UPM Raflatac-SABIC team brings first post-consumer PP label film to market
17 Apr 2020 --- UPM Raflatac has collaborated with chemical company SABIC to produce the first polypropylene (PP) label film manufactured from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic on a mass balance basis. The label material, which uses SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE solution for certified circular PP products, is now available on the global marketplace. With the same properties as standard PP films, UPM Raflatac’s PP PCR films can be used in different label applications, including rigid food packaging.
The self-adhesive label supplier’s PP PCR Clear and White products are made with a chemical recycling technology that uses a mass-balance approach to deliver virgin-like resin feedstock. Customers and brand owners can achieve the same product performance as virgin PP while cutting their footprint by decreasing the amount of virgin materials used, UPM Raflatac indicates.
“We are happy to be involved in our industry’s shift toward more circular solutions and this innovative product is the first of its kind available on the market. It is a concrete outcome of our efforts to label a smarter future beyond fossils by developing products that reduce the use of nonrenewable materials and treat waste as a valuable resource,” comments Antti Jääskeläinen, Executive Vice President at UPM Raflatac.
The new PP PCR Clear and White products are a continuation of the company’s mission to use recycled or renewable raw materials. The first step was the launch of UPM Raflatac Forest Film where fossil raw materials are replaced by renewable wood-based ones.
As per UPM Raflatac’s standard procedure, the whole value chain of PP PCR films has ISCC PLUS certification. The widely recognized environmental sustainability certification scheme verifies that the mass balance accounting follows predefined and transparent rules. Also, it provides traceability along the supply chain from the feedstock to the final product.
The PP PCR films have been developed by leveraging TRUCIRCLE, SABIC’s complete portfolio of solutions that span design for recyclability – mechanically recycled products, certified circular products from feedstock recycling of plastic waste streams and certified renewable products from bio-based feedstock.
The high quality of the PCR plastic is secured through chemical recycling, turning plastic polymers back into their original molecules. These can be reformed into PP which is equal to one made from virgin raw materials and fulfills strict food safety regulations. The chemical recycling process makes it possible to use recycled plastics in applications that could not utilize recycled materials before, such as food applications.
“SABIC is continuing to reinvent and lead in sustainability, and we are truly pioneering the way toward a circular economy for plastics. TRUCIRCLE is a significant milestone in our journey and with it, we’re more committed than ever to collaborating to close the loop on used plastics for the good of our planet,” notes Mark Vester, Circular Economy Leader at SABIC.
As one of the signatories to the Ellen MacArthur New Plastic Economy initiative, UPM Raflatac is committed to developing label solutions that support brand owners in eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging and achieving their target of 100 percent reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.
Edited by Joshua Poole
