Südpack unveils chemically-recycled prototype pack: “It’s a dream come true for closed recycling,” says MD

16 Jul 2019 --- A chemical recycling pilot project – ChemCycling – involving Südpack, Zott, BASF and Borealis has resulted in the development of a prototype Zott Gourmet Dairy flexible pack made from 100 percent recycled plastic. In this collaboration, BASF supplies chemically recycled polyamide, while Borealis provides sustainably produced polyethylene. Südpack, one of Europe’s leading producers of film packaging for food products, has used these materials to produce a multilayer film prototype for Zott Gourmet Dairy.

It is the first time Südpack has produced a prototype packaging made of chemically recycled polyamide and polyethylene. With this prototype, the supplier wanted to discover whether it is possible to produce a high-performance packaging solution like the one for Zott by using only chemically recycled plastic. Südpack also wanted to understand how chemically recycled plastic would impact on quality and product safety.

“What we were able to show with this prototype is: Yes, the bag made of chemically recycled material has exactly the same properties and qualities as the bag we produce from virgin plastic,” Johannes Remmele, Managing Director of Südpack, tells PackagingInsights. “This is a huge success – even though this is only a prototype and it still might take some years before we can launch such films. We now know it's possible and it’s a real option for us – and that’s amazing.”

“Now, we must focus on further improving and advancing the process of chemical recycling so that one day it can be carried out on an industrial scale. The sooner we achieve this, the better. At Südpack, we really believe in the potential of the ChemCycling project and we are fully committed to supporting its further development as a partner,” Remmele adds.

Unlike mechanical recycling, chemical recycling is capable of recycling almost all types of plastic, including multilayer films and heavily soiled plastic waste. Mechanical recycling also typically means “downcycling,” resulting in lower quality products. However, chemical recycling produces plastics with the same qualities as virgin plastics. Notably, chemically recycled plastics meet food safety requirements and can therefore be used for food grade packaging.

“Chemical recycling leads to the production of virgin-grade plastic and allows us to recycle plastic multiple times without any loss of quality. That’s groundbreaking and results in a 100 percent closed recycling cycle – something we could only dream of so far. If we are successful in developing the project for the market, chemical recycling will be an innovative complement to existing processes for recycling and recovery to solve the plastic waste problem,” Remmele notes.

Multilayer packaging ensures high-quality and fresh food products that protect the product and keep it hygienic, thereby extending the shelf-life of food. This is of particular importance in light of global food supply – one-third of all food produced worldwide is spoiled before it reaches consumers’ plates, Südpack reports. Smart solutions with multilayer packaging can play a part in reducing this unnecessary waste.

Multilayer packaging consists of up to 11 individual, ultra-thin layers, making it considerably lighter and thinner than comparable packaging. In addition to reducing the amount of raw materials used, this also contributes to considerably lowering CO2 emissions during transport.

“Today’s high-tech film packaging solutions consist of multiple materials and layers with different properties, such as an oxygen barrier. And thanks to the optimized use of materials, we were able to reduce the packaging volume to a minimum,” Remmele explains.

Within the ChemCycling project, BASF is working on advancing the chemical recycling of plastic waste to make it possible to process and reuse previously non-recyclable plastics such as mixed plastics.

The raw materials for polyamide and polyethylene were produced in very small quantities as part of the ChemCycling project. The pyrolysis oil derived from plastic waste was supplied by a partner and fed into BASF’s Verbund production site in Ludwigshafen as feedstock. According to the certified mass balance method, both plastics have an allocated 100 percent share of recycled materials.

“Now more than ever, customers expect that the packaging of their high-quality and sustainably produced food is as resource-efficient as possible,” explains Andreas Strunk, Head of Production, Technology & Supply Chain Management for Zott. “This is why it was important to us to be part of this pilot project right from the start in order to share our experience as well as our high-level requirements on packaging and its barrier functions, and to contribute to the development of a solution with identical functionality and increased environmental performance. We are very optimistic and hope that this project will make it to series production.”

“What is special about this pilot project is that both components of the packaging – polyamide and polyethylene – are made from chemically recycled material,” emphasized Maurits van Tol, Borealis Senior Vice President Innovation, Technology & Circular Economy Solutions. “This innovative solution came about thanks to the selection of special polymers. In addition, the collaboration between the companies involved made it possible for the first time to consistently certify each step up from the raw material to the finished packaging.”

“If one day – and hopefully very soon – we will have chemically recycled plastic available in larger quantities, there is no question that we will also use this plastic for our film packaging,” Remmele concludes.

By Joshua Poole