JANUARY/ SustainablePlastics.com FEBRUARY 

Packaging: stepping up to the sustainability challenge

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P001_SP_20210209.indd 1 1/29/21 11:59 AM Making Plastic Packaging Circular

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SP Full Page.indd 1 1/20/21 7:14 PM 4Reflection Newsround People on 6 8 the move

10What’s New

12Opinion: While momentous on numerous 18Q & A Sabic’s Mark levels, will 2020 perhaps Vester talks about the also be remembered Inside14 at… Packaging challenges and successes as the year the industry solutions provider TEQ has in developing a portfolio of embarked on its worked for forty years to sustainable materials. The transformational change? develop products with an success of the company’s ‘environmental conscience’. TRUCIRCLE materials “We collaborate with our demonstrates that the customers to reduce, reuse, market is there, if producers and recycle.” provide the materials. sustainable bioplastics packaging

21The joint journey towards sustainable packaging Huhtamaki and APK AG 26PHA – As green as it gets talk about the quest for PHA would seem an ideal fit to recyclable tube packaging – fill the materials gap left by the made with recycled content. Single-Use Plastic directive. What’s the diˆ iculty?

28Natural solutions for enhanced food safety Whatever24 the tether: Plant-based polymer The tethered cap legislation additives? Palsgaard has been sets a deadline that today producing them for decades. manufacturers across Europe are racing to meet.

Biopolymers:30 from promise to potential A few developments. 32Polymer prices Prices surge amid tightness and pandemic-driven buying 35Events calendar

January/February 2021 3

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editorial Editor Karen Laird +31 (0)643 004972 [email protected] Markets Editor David Platt +44 20 8253 9616 [email protected] Art Director Amy Steinhauser +1 313 446 0449 [email protected] Editorial Director Don Loepp +1 313 446 6767 [email protected] advertising Sales Director Matthew Barber +44 (0)7739 302081 [email protected]

Media Services Manager Patrick Alfes +1 313 446 0387 [email protected]

Vice President/Group Publisher Brennan La erty +1 313 446 6768 bla [email protected] international advertising Benelux, France Arthur Schavemaker Kenter & Co. B.V., Spoorstraat 21, NL-7470 AC Goor, The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)547-275005 Fax: +31 (0)547-271831 Email: [email protected] What’s in that packaging? Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Eastern Europe Randolf Krings t’s a legitimate question, and one that is increasingly being asked – and Emcmedia UG, Kaiser-Friedrich-Ring 46, D-65185, Wiesbaden, Germany itdoesn’t just refer to the contents. Plastic packaging, and particularly plastic Tel: +49 (0)611 5324 416 packaging waste, is a source of increasing public concern. As awareness Mobile: +49 (0)176 384 23044 Fax: +49 (0)611 5324 519 about ocean plastic, microplastics, landfi lls, health hazards and CO2 emis- Email: [email protected] Isions grows, more and more consumers are demanding greener, sustainable prod- Italy and Turkey Fabio Potestà uct packaging with less impact on the environment. And they are being heard. Mediapoint & Communications SRL, Around the world, governments are responding with legislation and regulatory Corte Lambruschini, Corso Buenos Aires, 8, V piano - interno 7, 16129 Genova - Italy measures designed to tackle and stem the fl ow of plastic packaging waste into Tel: +39 010 570 49481 Fax: +39 010 553 0088 the environment. Recycling targets have been set innumerous countries; bans on Email: [email protected] single-use plastic shopping bags and other items are under way and tax measures United States John Hickey are being considered, or, here and there, have already been implemented. Tel: +1 260-437-8502 Packaged goods manufacturers and retailers have started to take action in the Email: [email protected] form of commitments to put in place more sustainable packaging solutions for their Spain and Portugal Sandra Valencia products. Internationally-operating brand owners have pledged to reduce the Tel: +44 7827 682758 amount of plastic used and to boost the amount of recycled content used in their Email: [email protected] packaging. Many have also declared deadlines by which their packaging will be Volume 1 • Issue 1 redesigned in order to be reusable, recyclable or compostable. Sustainable Plastics is published in print and digital versions in March and October. Digital-only versions are available in April, June, August, and December However, these commitments can only be met with the cooperation and eˆ orts for which subscribers will receive an announcement email. of the plastics industry: of the recyclers, the resin suppliers; of the packaging pro- Sustainable Plastics (incorporating Plastics News Europe) is published by ducers and converters, all of whom must work together to develop these solutions. Crain Communications Ltd. Registered O ice: 11 Ironmonger Ln, London EC2V 8EY UK Solutions that must not only meet all regulatory requirements, but also oˆ er all the Registered No. 1576350 England. V.A.T. No. GB 577 6905 84 required performance, appearance and convenience. Printed by Latitude Group, www.latitudenorth.co.uk, Dorset UK It’s a tall order, to say the least. Plastic packaging, in its current form, wasde- ISSN 2634-0046 (Print) ISSN 2634-0054 (Online) veloped for a reason. Strong and durable, well-designed packaging protects the Advertising terms and conditions are available at product inside from damage and, in the case of perishables, from spoilage. It is www.sustainableplastics.com/terms-of-use calculated, for example, that in developing countries, 30-50% of perishable food © 2020 Crain Communications Ltd. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted without the permission of the publishers. decays before ever reaching the shops, let alone the consumer. Importantly, too, EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS Email to: [email protected] packaging creates shelf appeal. Its design and visual appearance are the ex- pression of a brand. Changes in packaging material or design will inevitably also subscriptions impact the branding strategy. Subscriptions, circulation, and credit card payments: Circulation Department, Sustainable Plastics, Creating new, sustainable and circular packaging solutions that deliver the 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207, United States. same advantages at an aˆ ordable cost is challenging, and can only truly succeed Tel: +1 313 446 0450 Email: [email protected] via collaboration across the value chain – at least, accordingto the companies we Europe €220 (per year surface mail) talked to in putting together this issue. The aim mustalways be to keep the value Rest of World €240 (per year airmail) Single copy €22 of plastics in the economy.And it is happening: the past few years have seen new partnerships springup between companies that previously would have Chairman Keith E Crain been considered unlikely bedfellows. Film producers and recyclers? Or, for that Vice Chairman Mary Kay Crain matter, packaging producers and recyclers? Or even key resin suppliers, brand President KC Crain owners and waste management companies? Senior Executive Vice President Chris Crain It’s a brave new world. But ultimately – and hopefully - a better one.

A member of Karen Laird Editor

4 January/February 2021

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SP Full Page.indd 1 1/20/21 7:13 PM newsround

Teijin establishes Europe Sustainable EU Market Technology Innovation Center for Polymers under Teijin has estab- pressure lished its new ESTIC innovation centre IN , THE European Plas- tics Converters association (EuPC) launched the Poly- mers for Europe Alliance, in an attempt to address the dire shortage of polymers for converters in Europe aris- ing at that time. The Alliance aimed to build and main- tain good communications between suppliers and cus- tomers of polymers and addi- tives in Europe following the catastrophic situation that unfolded in the first semester of 2015. TEIJIN LIMITED HAS estab- among researchers across hydrogen economy. The Alliance is once again lished a new research and de- borders to strengthen develop- The centre will also establish sounding the alarm. Tasked velopment facility in Arnhem, the ment initiatives in Teijin’s vari- a satellite o­ ice at the Bright- with monitoring the force Netherlands. Called the Europe- ous business units. ESTIC will lands Chemelot Campus, an majeure declarations issued an Sustainable Technology Inno- also undertake the challenge of international open-innovation by polymer producers glob- vation Center (ESTIC), it is tasked developing all-new businesses community active in perfor- ally, it signalled a worrying with developing technologies ‘for that leverage the lifecycle ca- mance materials, sustainable increase in issued declara- a more sustainable world’, ac- pabilities of Teijin’s core mate- processes and biomedical tions by numerous polymer cording to the company. rials and the development of solutions in Sittard-Geleen, producers towards the end As a research and develop- green materials to support the Netherlands, to further promote of 2020. Especially the supply ment hub for Teijin’s environ- global circular economy. This communication with external situation for polyolefins and mental-value solutions, ESTIC includes e­ orts to reduce CO2 innovation communities and re- PVC worsened significantly, will facilitate collaboration emissions and to stimulate the search institutes. making it di­ icult for convert- ing companies to obtain the necessary material to keep their production running. Covestro earns ISCC Plus certification The situation resembles that at the beginning of the Force Majeure crisis in 2015, for its Antwerp and Uerdingen sites according to Ron Marsh, COVESTRO HAS RECEIVED Chairman of the Polymers ISCC Plus mass balance cer- for Europe Alliance. “We will tification for its Antwerp and continue to monitor the de- Krefeld-Uerdingen sites, en- velopments very closely to Covestro photo abling the company to o­ er ensure the interests of the its customers large product plastics converting industry volumes of its polycarbonate are heard and to try to avoid made from renewable attribut- a second 2015.” ed raw materials in the same Tight supplies are mak- good quality as fossil-based ing it di­ icult for plastics polycarbonate. The polyure- converters to purchase raw thane raw material methylene materials at reasonable diphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) Covestro's renewable high-performance plastic polycarbonate are prices, as producers are in- from Krefeld-Uerdingen and used, among other things, to produce innovative luminaires with creasingly passing on the its precursor aniline from the novel edge-light e ects large price increases to their Antwerp plant are now also customers. For now, howev- available with ISCC Plus certifi- er, sandwiched between big cation. MDI is used to produce operation, Covestro received supply chain from the original- polymer suppliers and users rigid polyurethane foam, which a first shipment of ISCC-Plus ly used waste and residual oils of plastics, the many SMEs has been providing e­ icient certified phenol, an intermedi- and fats to the plastic is now that make up the plastics thermal insulation for refriger- ate product for polycarbonate, fully ISCC Plus certified. converting industry may be ation appliances and buildings from Borealis in October, which Both certifications will said to be caught between a for decades. was produced from renewable strengthen the use of alterna- rock and a hard place. As part of a strategic co- hydrocarbons from Neste. The tive raw materials at Covestro.

6 January/February 2021

P006_P007_SP_20210209.indd 6 1/29/21 11:58 AM newsround Arburg invests in electric drive systems with strategic purchase of AMK unit

The name of the acquired com- pany will be changed to AMK- motion GmbH + Co KG. Terms of the deal between Arburg’s owner families and Zhongding Holding Europe GmbH, which acquired AMK Group in 2016, were not disclosed. In additional news, the com- pany also announced that it is expanding its injection mould- ing business in Vietnam, with the launch of a new trade part- nership in January 2021. The collaboration with LSVN Co. Ltd. is aimed at achieving a more e›icient supply of high- AMK products ensure that the Allrounder 820 A, like all other electric tech machines and service to Arburg injection moulding machines, is highly productive and eicient. this growing Asian market. Headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, LSVN has more than 20 ON  JANUARY €‚€, injection part of a strategic investment systems, and control technol- years’ experience in the field moulding machine manufac- to strengthen its expertise and ogy and industrial automation of injection moulding, during turer Arburg GmbH acquired electric drives portfolio. The technology. Arburg plans to which time it has successfully its development partner of acquired company, which was retain the AMK employees and established itself as a distribu- more than 20 years, AMK Ar- one of two divisions of AMK keep open the sites in Kirch- tion partner and service pro- nold Müller GmbH & Co. KG Group, has a product portfo- heim/Teck and Weida, Ger- vider for the injection mould- in nearby Kirchheim/Teck, as lio of motors, electrical drive many, and Gabrovos, Bulgaria. ing industry. Transparent recycled content certification: Next step for fully circular plastics

ENVIRONMENTAL CLAIMS tions used purely as marketing of the whole value chain and must be paired with a scheme have taken the world by storm, tool without reducing the im- with a focus on a well-defined that verifies it in a transparent as consumers become increas- pact on the environment. approach towards the calcu- manner. EuCertPlast is an ex- ingly vocal about understanding Here is where RecyClass lation of the recycled content ample of such a scheme, where the environmental impact of the comes into play. It is a com- with an in-built independent not only the source of waste but products they choose and their prehensive cross-industry ini- audit system, RecyClass has all also the recycling process in its concerns over climate change. tiative that works to advance the tools to serve as a valid as- entirety is assessed. Meanwhile, companies striving plastic packaging recyclability sessment model”. One of the advantages of to transition from a linear towards and to establish a harmonized RecyClass Recycled Plas- the RecyClass Recycled Plas- a circular economy require reli- approach towards recycled tics Traceability Certification tics Traceability Certification is able certification of any environ- content calculation in Europe. guarantees the verifiability that, via a percentage-based mental claims they make. RecyClass has ready-made and traceability of the material recycled content calculation, it The plastics waste crisis has solutions for the verification of along the whole value chain, up allows for an adequate determi- shown that these claims, when such claims. It proposes certi- to the consumers. In practice, it nation of any share of the post guided by principles such as fications for recyclability and, attests the origins, sourcing, and pre-consumer streams. clarity and straightforwardness, more recently, has launched recycling processes and incor- Another benefit is that it is in- are of particular importance for a traceability certification, poration of the material in the tended for any company which plastic products. Transparency which recognizes transparent final product. Within such a plays a part in the value chain plays a key role in recyclability and actual use of recycled system the ownership and the and holds custody of the re- and recycled content reporting. plastics in finished or semi-fin- certification are passed from cycled plastics including, but With the upcoming regula- ished products. one actor of the value chain not limited to, compounders, tory requirements at EU lev- “While working on the prac- to another. This practice is en- converters, blow moulders and el, which call for a structured, tical aspects and methodology sured via the Chain of Custody brand owners. consistent, and transparent for assessing recycled content as well as the Recycled Plastics The creation of the RecyClass approach to recycled content of packaging placed on the EU standards, on which the certifi- Recycled Plastics Traceability claims on the market, it must be market decision makers should cation is based. Certification was made possible ensured that these are guided turn to the already existing Chain of Custody, among oth- by the expertise and collabora- by verifiable and tangible prin- schemes like RecyClass,” said ers, guarantees the traceability tion of the RecyClass members, ciples. This will eliminate green- Paolo Glerean RecyClass Chair- and origins of waste. This in turn who cover a broad spectrum of washing based on void declara- man, “based on the know-how implies that the certification plastics industry players.

January/February 2021 7

P006_P007_SP_20210209.indd 7 1/29/21 11:58 AM people People on the move in the plastics industry Advanced recycling pioneer division and Commercial Direc- is an industry veteran within Agilyx has announced the ap- tor of the downstream division. BASF and brings many years pointment of Beatriz Malo de He was recently awarded a life- of knowledge, experience, and Molina as Chief Financial O i- time achievement award by the leadership to Evolve. Currently cer, e ective January 4, 2021. Energy Council for his outstand- he is responsible for Business Ms. Malo de Molina will suc- ing contribution to the industry. Build-up of innovative material ceed current CFO Russell Main, solutions e.g., for E-Power Man- who has been named CFO of Total Corbion PLA has an- agement, Functional Feed Ad- Beatriz Malo de Molina Agilyx’s recently established nounced major changes to its ditives, and 3D-Printing. Addi- feedstock management com- executive leadership team with tionally, he is Chairman of BASF pany, Cyclyx International, LLC. the appointment, e ective 1 Oc- 3D Printing Solutions GmbH, Ms. Malo de Molina most tober, of Thomas Philipon, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Melanie Maas Brunner recently served as senior vice its new CEO and of Chiel Ri- BASF New Business based in president, head of Mergers & etvelt, who took on the role of Heidelberg/Germany. Volk- Acquisitions with Orkla ASA. CFO in April 2020. They succeed er Hammes holds a Master of Prior to this role, she held sever- Stephane Dion and Geo Nor- Science degree with first-class al management and operational by, respectively, both of whom honours in Mechanical Engi- roles with Kistefos Private Equi- had served at Total Corbion PLA neering/Plastics Technology ty, McKinsey & Co., Inc. in Nor- since the company’s founding in from RWTH Aachen University. way, and internationally with 2017. The appointments mark a the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., significant next step in the com- Ingevity has named Stacy Brian Gilvary as well as Ernst & Young. Ms. pany’s growth - a growth that Lancaster Cozad as exec- Malo de Molina currently serves includes, in the future, the con- utive vice president, general on the board of directors for Nel struction of Europe’s first world- counsel and secretary, e ective ASA, a global supplier of hy- scale PLA production facility. Feb. 1, 2021. The general coun- drogen technology. A native of The new plant, which is planned sel role became vacant with Madrid, Spain, Ms. Malo de Mo- to be operational in 2024, will be the retirement of Katherine lina will continue to be based located in Grandpuits, France C. Burgeson on Aug. 1, 2020. in Oslo, where she has been a and have an annual capacity of Cozad joins Ingevity from Spir- resident since 2006. 100,000 tons. it AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., where she served as senior The Supervisory Board of BASF Stork IMM has announced a vice president, general counsel, SE has appointed Melanie change of leadership with the chief compliance o icer and Thomas Philipon Maas-Brunner to the Board appointment of Martin Essink corporate secretary since Janu- of Executive Directors, e ective as its new CEO. He succeeds ary 2016. Prior to joining Spirit, February 1, 2021. Maas-Brunner Oscar de Gruijter, who has left Cozad was with Southwest Air- Chiel Rietvelt has been with BASF since 1997 the company as of 1 January lines Co., first as senior attorney and has headed BASF’s Nu- 2021. Martin Essink, who previ- from 2006 to 2009 and then as trition & Health division since ously acted as investment man- associate general counsel – liti- 2017. In her new role, she will ager on behalf of shareholder gation from 2009 to 2015. also take over as Chief Technol- Wadinko, assumed his new role ogy O icer from Martin Bruder- mid-November. Essink brings Jessica Poliner has been müller, Chairman of the Board many years of experience in appointed President of Barnes of Executive Directors of BASF. working with SMEs, especially Molding Solutions, e ective in the plastics industry, to Stork January 1, 2021. Ms. Poliner re- Ineos has announced that it is IMM. He served as a director places Norbert Scheid, who Martin Essink establishing a new Ineos Ener- at Euro Moldings, a producer retired from Barnes Group in gy venture that will be chaired of plastic packaging, for over 12 December 2020, after a 47-year by former BP CFO, Brian Gil- years. In his previous position as successful career in the plas- vary. As executive chairman investment manager, Essink was tics moulding industry. Molding of the new business, which will directly involved in a number of Solutions is a strategic business incorporate all of the existing improvement processes at Stork unit within Barnes Group, which Ineos Oil and Gas businesses IMM. As a result, he is already consists of highly respected Volker Hammes as well as the extensive devel- very familiar with both the com- brands Synventive, Thermoplay, opment activities in low carbon pany and the people there. männer, FOBOHA, Priamus, Stacy Lancaster Cozad technologies for the coming and Gammaflux. Building on energy transition, Gilvary will be Evolve Additive Solutions has the reputation of Molding Solu- able to draw on a wealth of ex- appointed Volker Hammes, tions’ premier brands, Ms. Po- perience gained in the course of managing director BASF liner and her leadership team his 34-year career in BP. During New Business GmbH, Lud- will advance and accelerate his time with BP, he held several wigshafen/Rhein Vice Pres- the execution of the strategic senior financial and commercial ident & Head of Business business unit’s growth strategy roles, including member of the Build-up has been appointed through investments in R&D, Board of TNK-BP , Chief Exec- to its Board of Directors e ec- product management, and stra- Jessica Poliner utive of BP’s commodity trading tive November 2020. Volker tegic marketing.

8 January/February 2021

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SP Full Page.indd 1 1/20/21 7:13 PM what’s new

Materials

Meusburger introduces a new slide retainer The new MultiAir 4000 blower Optimum slide retention from Meusburger Equipment Slide retainers are needed to hold slides se- Kongskilde launches powerful curely in the end position when the mould Audia launches new is open. With the new E 3050 leaf spring roll family of sustainable ther- new blower stopper, Meusburger has created an exclu- moplastic elastomers sive and cost-eective alternative to exist- Denmark’s Kongskilde Industries has ex- ing solutions on the market. The design en- tended its popular series of industrial blow- ables retaining forces of up to 140 N, which Audia presents family of ers, MultiAir, with a new high-eicient model makes also it suitable for holding large slide sustainable thermoplastic with enhanced capabilities. The MultiAir bodies in their end position. 4000 These models, which enable the high- The roll inside the roll holder locks under elastomers speed pneumatic conveying of trim waste tension when the mould is opened. The ac- Audia Elastomers, a global supplier of in large volumes, eectively remove small- curately cut recess of the leaf spring ensures innovative elastomer materials, has an- sized waste material from high-speed pro- that the slide body is held without play and nounced the launch of its AudiaFlex family duction lines. The MultiAir 4000 blowers in a precise position. The freely mounted roll, of sustainable thermoplastic elastomers come with integrated frequency converter, made of high-quality roller bearing steel, and - one of the industry’s first TPE portfolios and are designed for handling of material the nitrided leaf spring ensure minimal fric- which meet the sustainability needs of through the blower. tion and thus enable maximum service life. brand owners and consumers. The new Like the smaller models in the series, the The slide retainer can be used at tempera- AudiaFlex family is comprised of custom- new 4000 blowers oer the same very low tures of up to 200°C which makes it suitable izable grades which are produced from noise level and are weatherproof. for a wide range of applications. post-consumer, post-industrial, bio-based, The new leaf spring roll stopper is avail- and marine-based sources. able in two dierent variations and three AudiaFlex materials mirror the properties dierent leaf spring thicknesses. of most virgin TPEs and deliver comparable The new D-Bushing capabilities in terms of haptics, colour, ad- hesion, and durometer. They can compete in high-performance applications with con- Packaging ventional TPEs, TPVs, and TPU chemistries Recycle-ready retort pouches in personal care, consumer household, con- sumer electronics, automotive, and toys. Au- With the intro- diaFlex grades are manufactured at Audia fa- duction of its cilities in Lafayette, Ga. and Shenzhen, China. patent-pending breakthrough Fully recyclable collation film Hot runners, innovation Pro- made with recycled content Active Recycle moulds Ready Retort RT- A new, print-grade shrink bundling film for 3000, ProAmpac multi-packs from Indevco, based on 50% Simple design, fast installation is responding to post- consumer recycled resin, is fully re- RT-3000 pouches the growing de- cyclable at store drop o locations across The new D-Bushing has been designed by are available in mand for recycle the US, the company says. Indevco Plas- Thermoplay, a business within Barnes Molding both stand-up and ready retort pack- tics co-developed the film with Dow, a fel- Solutions strategic business unit, for the new three-side seal aging. Suited for pet low member of the Alliance to End Plastic Thermoplay TF nozzles. The new gate bushing configurations and human food, Waste, for food and beverage manufactur- is equipped with a double sealing ring on the RT-3000 pouch- ers who bundle products in multi-unit pack- external diameter to protect the injection sys- es are available in ages. Dow’s PCR resin, first introduced for tem from any thermoplastics leakage. both stand-up and three-side seal configura- shrink applications in North America in Oc- The sealing diameter close to the in- tions and are EU and FDA compliant for food tober, contains 70% certified PCR sourced jection point protects the integrity of the contact in retort applications. As with other from a reliable local US supply. injection system, the tips in particular, al- ProAmpac sustainable solutions, RT-3000 is The low-gauge, high-strength collation lowing easy and safe mounting and dis- designed to run at similar filling and process- shrink film - available as plain or print-ready assembling of the cavities as well as fre- ing speeds as current multi-material struc- rolls – passed an array of tests for mechan- quent changes to the mould version. The tures that aren’t recyclable. Available in clear ical, optical, and processing properties. The D-Bushing creates a barrier that increas- or opaque options, RT-3000 oers excellent unprinted film is devoid of ink, allowing the es the nozzle insulation and reduces the stiness for stand-up shelf appearance and package design of products within to ad- thermal dispersion, thus saving energy very high puncture and flex-crack resistance vertise themselves, or the film can be print- consumption. The external fixing ring al- for safe product handling and distribution. ed by packaging converters. In addition to lows for safe assembly and disassembly The packaging is well-positioned for the fu- PCR, Indevco Plastics also produces shrink operations without causing damage to the ture of recycling and is designed to support a bundling film based on post-industrial recy- bushing and other components. circular economy. cled resin from its own waste stream.

10 January/February 2021

P010_SP_20210209.indd 10 1/29/21 12:16 PM Save the date! Get ready for the 20th Anniversary 1-2 December 2021 Event Awards and livestream 1 presentations 20th Anniversary Launching soon…..

SPPIA Full save Page.indd the date page 1 ad for SP Jan.indd 1 19/01/20211/20/21 7:15 16:44 PM opinion Will 2020 be an inflexion point in the transformation to a circular economy for plastic packaging? Historians looking back at 2020 will undoubtedly declare it to be one of the most momentous years of recent times. The trillion- dollar question, though, is whether they will also say that it was the year when the world’s global consumption patterns finally shifted, when we changed how we use finite natural resources and how we treat the planet we live on, writes Venetia Spencer, Secretary General of PCEP.

ven as the Coronavirus holders in the polyolefin (PO) an products by an additional But what outside factors pandemic dominated value chain – brand owners, 1,000,000 tonnes, bringing us to will help us meet our commit- global headlines, plas- retailers, waste management 3MT a year of PCR in products ments? In our view, there are tic waste and pollution organisations, recyclers, con- by 2025. three significant factors that will Estill captured the attention of the verters, producers and every- Our role in the transition to a drive the transformation to plas- public, governments, media and one else. PCEP is where we carbon neutral circular econo- tic packaging circularity. businesses around the world. It exchange ideas, showcase proj- my for packaging is clear. Poly- The first is national govern- is clear that solving the plastic ects and work together to max- olefins represent 70% of Eu- ment priorities. The Corona- waste crisis is not only about imise innovation to advance the rope’s plastic packaging market virus crisis, while creating a clean-ups and waste manage- circular economy. We are on a and at the end of life that pack- global human tragedy and eco- ment infrastructure in the devel- mission together to transform aging represents the majority, nomic disaster, can and should oping world. Rather, the whole the polyolefin system from a 71%, of the collected post-con- be used as an opportunity to re- economy must shift from today’s linear to a circular one. PCEP’s sumer polyolefin waste. That build the entire packaging val- linear take-make-waste mod- mission has three guiding prin- collected material goes on to ue chain as a circular economy. el to one in which plastic never ciples: designing out waste; be transformed into over 80% PCEP is advocating strongly becomes waste, or pollution. keeping products and materials of the post-consumer recycled that investment decisions taken Industry, in particular, must fun- in use for as long as possible; polyolefins being used today by EU countries as part of the damentally rethink the way we and recycling into high-quality in European products - across €1.8 trillion European recovery design, use, and reuse plastics. new raw materials. packaging, construction, auto- package should be focused on And, beyond this, how we en- PCEP drives the focus of our motive, electronics, agriculture delivering the circular economy. gage with the final user of our work through firm voluntary and other sectors. Data is from Today, the majority of collected products to create a systemic commitments, including the a study for PCEP by Conversio. waste plastic ends up in ener- shift including a relationship that largest single polymer pledge Getting packaging right will re- gy recovery. Investing to create sees the value in our materials, made in the scope of the Euro- sult in a dramatic shift in the cir- an e˜icient and high-quality and the value in keeping them in pean Union’s plastic pledging cularity of PO as a whole. pan-European collection and a circular economy. campaign. We voluntarily com- When the PO industry takes sorting infrastructure is vital The Polyolefin Circular Econ- mitted to increase the amount responsibility for its own footprint, to generate the necessary vol- omy Platform (PCEP) is a forum of recycled PO from post-con- we will be the enabler for every- umes that will make recycling for all organisations and stake- sumer waste used in Europe- one else’s transformation too. polyolefins economically viable.

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Similarly all recycling technolo- terial from feedstock recycling in consumer behaviour. Reuse One of the easier places to gies need to be recognised to and has an e€icient and e€ec- and refill models need a lot of start is reusable transport pack- encourage investment in inno- tive procedure for authorising exploration to understand the aging, using standard formats vation and significant growth of other recycled material. PCEP logistics and environmental in pooling systems. This is why on the ground capacity. members are working now on footprint, and to address issues PCEP is launching a pilot proj- A second factor is the PO in- the first step for physically re- of safety and liability. We need ect to demonstrate the benefits dustry’s ability and willingness cycled PO – to establish a clear to know where a circular sin- of using post-consumer recy- to innovate and look at circu- scientific evaluation framework, gle-use packaging may have a cled PO pallets instead of the larity in all its applications. In characterising the waste feed- better environmental impact. wooden ones still used along the packaging space we also stock and ensuring the recy- We all need to look at how we much of our value chain. have to look at markets that his- cling technology delivers safe produce, market, use, collect, Despite all the challenges torically were not considered, of the Coronavirus pandemic, and even in some cases have PCEP members have main- legislation prohibiting use. For When the PO industry takes tained an absolute commitment example, PO in food contact responsibility for its own to a circular economy as the materials is one of the largest strategic long-term route for the applications for our materials footprint, we will be the plastics industry. We are under but use of recycled material is enabler for everyone else’s huge time pressure to deliver the largely prohibited by EU food transformational changes need- safety legislation. To move to a transformation too. ed, but fixed targets with fixed circular economy for PO food deadlines concentrate the mind. packaging, we need to be able PCEP is about action, not to generate and use recycled words. But transformational materials that meet the vital- change cannot happen in iso- ly important safety standards recycled materials. sort and recycle packaging lation. Industry needs support needed to ensure food is safe. The third and perhaps most and other products. Identifying from governments and society PCEP welcomes the willing- radical factor will be adop- where, what and how reusable at large. As the transforma- ness of authorities to review tion and expansion of reusable packaging can contribute to a tional industrialist Henry Ford this legislation at the EU level packaging. This will require carbon neutral circular econ- once said: “Coming together is and will work closely to see a radical change along the entire omy will be perhaps the most a beginning, staying together is framework that recognises the packaging value chain, com- di€icult – but necessary – step progress, and working together production of virgin quality ma- bined with a significant shift on the journey. is success.”

White Paper from LyondellBasell: Maximising the value potential of PE-PP post-consumer recycling through the use of Catalloy produced grades Now available for free-of-charge download from the Sustainable Plastics website.

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New Clean Room facility recently installed at Plastique Ltd production facility in Hucknall, Nottingham PLASTIQUE photo

Innovation is the key to survival TEQ has built a reputation for manufacturing innovative thermoformed packaging. “Innovative design underpins every TEQ project,” says Anne-Sophie Belamine, the company’s European Sales Director. “We’re focussed on fi nding ways to improve or reduce packaging so that customers get the best designed, and most practical solution.”

he company has es- the US are located in Huntley, six in-line pulp thermoforming processes,” says Anne-Sophie tablished itself as one Illinois, and Fremont, Indiana. machines. Both sites have ISO- Belamine. of the industry’s lead- Both the US and European and BRC-certified cleanroom Yet it is the company’s fo- ers in innovation, de- manufacturing facilities operate production facilities that serve cus on innovation that allows Tsign and sustainability of plastic with the exact same machinery, to produce products for the it to successfully navigate a packaging. As a manufacturer tooling manufacture and to the medical sector. fast-changing packaging land- of thermoformed packaging, same high-quality standards. The cleanroom at the Not- scape. “Innovative design un- TEQ counts some of the world’s As the company pointed out, tingham factory produces cus- derpins every TEQ project,” she biggest companies among its multinational customers can tom thermoformed medical emphasised. “We’re focused customers. therefore benefit from a single packaging. on finding ways to improve or The company is active is a validation process, logistical The 7,000m2 Poznan facili- reduce packaging so that cus- wide range of markets, creat- advantages, exacting quality, ty incorporates thermoformed tomers get the best designed, ing packaging solutions for ev- repeatability and uniformity. plastic manufacture and a sep- and most practical solution.” erything from consumer goods The multiple locations can also arate dedicated area for the to component handling and shorten lead times for clients. manufacture of dry pressed fi- healthcare. All development TEQ’s production facilities bre. There is also a 2,600-pallet Forty years of takes place in house, at the are certified to ISO 9001, ISO capacity warehouse for storing experience company’s state-of-the-art pro- 14001 and BRC/IOP Global materials and finished products duction facilities in the US, the standard for food packaging before they are shipped. Established in 1979, TEQ has UK and Poland. and other packaging materials. Using advanced 3D com- more than four decades experi- This o ers customers a truly The company also adheres to puter-aided design (CAD) sys- ence in the design and manu- global supply opportunity, with FSC Chain of Custody require- tems, it can develop precise facture of thermoformed pack- critical projects transitioned to ments for sustainability. visuals for quick and accurate aging, and it is well aware of the more local manufacturing lo- sign-o from clients – reducing crucial role of plastic packaging cations across the world. Not- waste and creating e icien- in society today. From keeping tingham is the manufacturing Equipped for innovation cies throughout production. food fresh and fragile products facility for the UK and Northern Across its European busi- “The business has built up a safe, to o ering a sterile barri- Europe. The manufacturing site ness, the company operates reputation for developing cus- er system in healthcare, plas- in Poznan, Poland serves central 16 plastic thermoforming ma- tom packaging solutions to tic packaging is ubiquitous for and eastern Europe. The com- chines capable of punch and overcome di iculties that arise good reason: it does the job, pany’s manufacturing sites in die and pressure forming, plus from complex manufacturing continued on page 16

14 January/February 2021

P014_P017_SP_20210209.indd 14 1/29/21 12:15 PM 9-11 December 2020 VIRTUAL EVENT

Conference sessions from PRSE Virtual now available for on-demand viewing at prseventeurope.com

PRSE Virtual enabled the plastics recycling community to come together to learn, network and share knowledge and experience.

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continued from page 14 contain between 60-80% recy- rials used are produced from a Medical packaging and it does it well. cled content from post-consum- recycled grade plastic, or are Nonetheless, plastic packag- er material, the waste generated fully reusable or recyclable, waste, an especially ing today is considered a mixed by households or companies with the vast majority of prod- urgent problem blessing. Laxity, poor waste man- which can no longer be used for ucts manufactured containing agement and ignorance have its intended purpose. This is well recycled plastics. The focus on sustainability enabled plastic packaging waste above the threshold demanded As an example, the compa- and problem-solving also led to escape into and accumulate by emerging legislation. ny explained that it produced to the creation of a new TEQ in ecosystems everywhere. And no carbon black trays. Packag- product, designed to solve the not only is packaging held to be ing trays incorporating carbon problem of waste in healthcare. the largest source of leakage Sustainability black are invisible to the infrared According to the non-profit of plastic into the environment, with quality optical sorters used at plastic Practice Greenhealth, hospitals once in the environment, it tends waste sorting facilities. The car- and medical centres in the US to remain there. Most packaging TEQ is part of the NYSE-listed bon absorbs a significant part produce more than five million is made of non-degradable pe- company Sonoco, a global pack- of the ultraviolet, impeding the tonnes of waste a year, with troleum-based plastic materials aging solutions leader, ranked reflection of infrared light back plastic packaging accounting and the properties that make 48th in Barron’s 100 Most Sus- to the sensor. For this reason, for the majority. these so eective when used in tainable Companies for 2019. TEQ makes use of black/brown Sterile barrier systems (SBS), packaging - strength, durabili- Beyond its product line, TEQ ‘no carbon’ PET packaging that the plastic packaging that oers ty - are the same properties that is ‘committed to incorporating can be detected by the sensors a microbial barrier, usually con- prevent their decomposition in sustainability into our overall used in recycling, to ensure the sist of more than one material. the environment. The resultant business strategy and helping material is recycled rather than Busy hospital sta don’t have current vast amount of plas- customers achieve their envi- ending up in landfill. the time to separate lids and tic pollution has given rise to a ronmental goals’, said Belamine. Moreover, TEQ’s 100 % RPET trays, so very little of the pack- strong backlash against plastics “Sustainability underpins our material is a 100% post-con- aging is recycled. and the plastics industry. Legis- thinking in everything that we sumer PET that has undergone This led TEQ to set to work lation has been passed making do – both the products that we a super cleaning process, mak- to create TEQethylene, a viable sustainable, recyclable or re- design and manufacture, and ing it suitable for direct food solution for SBS. The compa- usable design mandatory; new the way we run our operations.” contact applications. ny worked with its suppliers to recycling targets have been set For over 40 years TEQ has The European Food safety develop a better High-Density which must be met by packaging continued to develop products Authority concluded that the re- Polyethylene (HDPE) blend tray producers. Moreover, public out- with an environmental con- cycled PET obtained from these that would be more widely recy- cry and the negative consumer science: products of minimal processes and which is intended cled. Using Tyvek, a commonly attitudes that have developed size and weight, but which de- for the manufacture of materials used breathable HDPE thermo- towards plastic are also prov- liver the required quality. “We and articles for contact with all plastic lidding, the firm created ing to be powerful incentives for collaborate with our customers types of foodstus for long term a mono-polymer SBS, with no food producers and retailers to on reduce, reuse and recycle storage at room temperature, need to dissemble the lid from strive to use less packaging and initiatives. We remove unneces- with or without hotfill, is not con- the tray for recycling. better plastic packaging. sary layers of packaging, as well sidered to be a safety concern. In addition, TEQ delivers a It is something that TEQ, how- as the amount of material used.” This material is fully recyclable range of medical packaging ever, has done from the very Customers can choose with the PET recycling stream, solutions that are produced at start: the vast majority of TEQ’s products that are up to 100% and is cost neutral to standard state-of-the-art cleanrooms thermoformed products today recycled, and all of the mate- PET based in both the UK and Po- land. Designed, built and com- missioned by pharmaceutical cleanroom experts, the facilities are certified to ISO 13485: 2016, suitable for the production of precision-made and custom thermoformed medical pack- aging. The cleanrooms, located in Nottingham and Poznan, are designed to meet medical de- vice and pharmaceutical man- ufacturers’ most rigorous pack- aging requirements. Through its US-based sister company, the company also has significant expertise in both medical device manufacturing and pharmaceutical and ster- ile medical packaging. TEQ’s packaging solutions include trays, procedure sets, clam- shells, tubs, covers, lids, sterile barrier blisters and seal blisters. Anne-Sophie Belamine The company manufactures custom thermoformed handling

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trays suitable for high-speed Fibrepak is also currently de- production, with automated TEQ launched it’s Fibrepak veloping web films that can be assembly and transit. Handling production in 2014 heat sealed to the top flange tray solutions include auto-in- of a container. These can have jectors, dry powder inhalers, in- a range of peel strengths, from jection-moulded components, easy peel to semi-permanent pre-filled syringes and pharma- without any treatment to the fi- ceutical bottles. bre packaging. Having both a North Ameri- “We continue to invest in can and European presence en- the latest technology for both ables TEQ to o er supply oppor- our plastic products and Fi- tunities to both European and brepak with significant in- multinational medical device vestment in new Kiefel ther- and pharmaceutical customers. ing the pulp used has come from stacking and ‘nesting’. moforming machines made in sustainably managed forests. TEQ has developed the ther- the last twelve months. Multiple production lines are al- moforming expertise required Regardless of material selec- An alternative ready running at the company's to manufacture Fibrepak prod- tion we remain fully committed also available Polish facility in Poznan. ucts to a customer’s exact to delivering innovative pack- Fibrepak is high quality, thin- specifications – even for com- aging solutions, designed and For those wanting a plastic walled and smooth sided, mean- plex shapes and designs. As a manufactured with sustainabil- alternative, TEQ also o ers a ing that packaged products do result, the company is gaining ity at the forefront of our think- natural and sustainable pack- not get scratched. It a dust-free popularity across many sec- ing,” says Belamine. aging solution called Fibrepak. material, so there is no particle tors. Currently, products vary- While legislation and policy To produce the material, natural contamination. It is non-toxic, ing from fruit and vegetables, designed to tackle the plastics fibres are converted into high microwavable, static-free and in- confectionery, electrical and issue finds its feet, TEQ will tolerance thermoformed pulp- credibly shock absorbent. It can devices to drinks, homecare continue to lead in bringing products using a unique vacu- also be treated to be moisture and postal packs are packaged about quality, sustainable pack- um technique and ‘cure-in-the- resistant for sustained periods. in the material. aging options for the emerging mould’ technology. Fibrepak also provides logistics And it can be recycled in tra- circular economy, working with The fibres are derived from lo- advantages over rigid cellular ditional waste streams along customers to create innovative cally sourced FSC Chain of Cus- plastic foam packaging, thanks with paper, compostable and new products that are fit for tody certified materials, mean- to its ability to enable product biodegradable materials. purpose in the 21st century.

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SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio has received unprece- dented interest from companies including Unilever, Mars Incorporated and Estee Lauder Companies, among others. Sabic photos

Building a value chain around circular economy principles

Since launching, Sabic’s portfolio of certified circular polymers have proven to be an unqualified success. But certified circular technology is still in its infancy, according to Mark Vester, Global Leader, Circular Economy at Sabic. Scaling the technology requires ‘value chain collaborations and innovations on an unprecedented scale’, he said. Mark Vester

Over this past year, the mate- mise consumer safety and help sonal care packaging using our rials in your TRUCIRCLE port- address the environmental and certified circular polymers. polluting the environment. A folio seem to have found ap- sustainability goals demanded truly circular economy has to be plication in a wide variety of by society. Manufacturers need Much has been written about one where plastics waste is re- packaging applications. Has to be given access to more sus- the materials produced tained and reused. the response from the market tainable materials so that they through chemical recycling. We partnered with Plastic lived up to expectation? and the end-consumer can feel Why did you choose to work Energy, as the company is lead- Since launching in late 2019, confident about using plastic with the technology devel- ing the way in its field in transi- our TRUCIRCLE portfolio has products and about the fact oped by Plastic Energy? tioning to a low-carbon circular received unprecedented inter- that they can be recycled and Advanced (or chemical/feed- economy for plastics. It is one of est from companies in packag- repurposed. stock) recycling holds the key to the few companies worldwide ing and beyond who are looking What is significant about reducing the use of conventional that has sold millions of litres of for commercially and environ- our TRUCIRCLE portfolio is the approaches of handling end-of- recycled oils from the conver- mentally viable solutions which number of consumer products life plastics, such as landfill and sion of end-of-life plastic waste, can help to address the plastic we have helped brand leaders combustion. These approaches using patented technology. waste challenge. launch in the last year. We’ve can lock plastics out of reach, We are committed to collabo- The common unifier among worked for example with Unilever destroy future value and, in the rating with upstream and down- these companies is the need (Magnum & Knorr), Estee Lauder case of combustion and landfill, stream partners to drive to es- to deliver the highest quality Companies, Mars Incorporated risk releasing elevated levels of tablish a value chain for plastics solutions that don’t compro- and more to create food and per- CO2 into the atmosphere and which is built around circular

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economy principles. We contin- cled content in plastics, without ue to evaluate advancements in compromising the quality or technologies, solutions and col- performance for packaging, au- laborations which can increase tomotive and electronics. the volumes of circular feed- stocks to market. What is Sabic’s approach to designing for recyclability and What exactly are ‘certified how is the company support- circular polymers’ under the ing its customers in this area? ISCC scheme? How does A challenge facing plastic that work? recycling is the fact that often Sabic’s certified circular a product is made of many dif- products contribute towards ferent plastic elements or layers a new value chain, where we which serve di erent function- work in coordination with our alities, which makes it more upstream suppliers and key di icult to separate and recy- downstream customers to up- cle. Up to 80% of a product’s cycle used mixed plastic back environmental impacts are de- termined at the design phase, to the original polymer. Sabic’s certified circular polymers Our certified circular poly- are recognised through the Inter- so manufacturers must work mers are produced through national Sustainability and Carbon together with customers to de- the feedstock recycling of low Certification plus (ISCC+) scheme sign packaging solutions which quality, used mixed plastic that can be recycled e ectively. would otherwise be destined for On a product level, we strive incineration or landfill. It takes to embed sustainability in pack- di icult-to-recycle used plas- We are committed to aging product design and devel- tic back to the molecular level collaborating with upstream opment to make sure the prod- through a process called py- ucts on the market can be fed rolysis. This technology breaks and downstream partners to back into the value chain. This plastic down by heating it at a drive to establish a value chain process should include e orts very high temperature in an to reduce the complexity of the oxygen-free environment, pro- for plastics which is built around materials and polymers used to ducing pyrolysis oil. The pyrol- circular economy principles. create a specific product. ysis oil then needs to be refined At Sabic, we focus on both and upgraded for use as feed- packaging design as well as stock. This process culminates product development to pro- in polymers that have identical high-quality virgin polymers, current production processes. mote the better re-use and properties to virgin-based poly- based on second-generation recycling of our customer’s mers and allows plastics to be bio-based feedstock – such as What about mechanical re- solutions. recycled over and over again, waste from wood pulping pro- cycling – what is the share of with no loss of properties or cessing. Like Sabic’s circular products derived through me- Packaging will be required characteristics. polymers, its renewable poly- chanical recycling in the TRU- to meet various new EU re- Our certified circular poly- mers have been accredited and CIRCLE portfolio? cycling requirements in 2025 mers are recognised through certified through the Interna- Mechanical recycling has an – to what extent have the stra- the International Sustainability tional Sustainability and Car- important role to play in our tegic choices made by Sabic and Carbon Certification plus bon Certification plus scheme journey towards closing the been influenced by these? (ISCC+) scheme that certifies (ISCC PLUS). loop on used plastic. As the Certified circular technology content and standards across The products, including our most mature of the recycling is still in its infancy and there the value chain from source renewable polycarbonate, do technologies on the market to- are a number of steps required to end product. The ISCC+ not interact or compete with day, it o ers an ideal solution to make the technology truly certification works on what the human food chain and can for the recycling of high purity scalable, so it becomes a more is known as a ‘mass balance help to reduce both CO2 emis- mixed-used plastics. It is also a competitive option when com- system’, meaning that for each sions as well as the use of fossil solution that is helping to cre- pared to virgin polymers. We tonne of circular feedstock fed feedstock during production. ate a crucial bridge between are determined to increase the into the cracker and substi- The performance of the renew- today’s linear economy and volume of recycled products we tuting fossil-based feedstock, able materials is equal to that a more sustainable, circular process in Europe to 200 kilo- a tonne of the output can be of materials produced using economy for plastics. It is com- tonnes by 2025, in line with our classified as circular. fossil feedstock; they feature plementary to other circular re- pledge to the EU Commission. the same properties, do not im- cycling processes and solutions To do this, we are working To what extent does ‘renew- pact production and processing including advanced recycling, with a range of partners to ably sourced’ play a role in methods and increase the recy- which can process more chal- considerably increase our sup- Sabic’s view of sustainable clability of the product. lenging, mixed-used plastic, ply of certified circular poly- packaging? Our range of certified renew- such as films and plastics bags, mers through the construction Certified renewable materi- able products are made to the where mechanical recycling is of our first commercial plant, als are one of our complemen- same high specifications as not an option. situated in the Netherlands. tary solutions o ered as part materials made using traditional Our approach to mechani- The project relies on value of our TRUCIRCLE portfolio feedstocks, making it a solution cally recycled products aims to chain collaborations and in- Our renewable polymers are that can work seamlessly with include high amounts of recy- continued on page 20

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continued from page 19 to the tethered cap regula- global framework for waste fluencing our marketplace en- novations on an unprecedent- tion? And the SUP ban? collection. And whilst a closed vironment globally for the short ed scale and will enable Sabic E†ective packaging design loop for commercial packaging to medium term. However, we to significantly upscale the is the first step to limiting the could be within reach in the have confidence in the resil- production of certified circular risk of plastics entering the en- not-too-distant future, munic- ience and strength of our oper- polymers. vironment and to addressing ipal waste collection and recy- ations and supply chain. Sabic is also working to ad- applicable regulatory compli- cling can vary greatly from state We have built our business vocate, and stimulate the right ance. Therefore, we are com- to state, let alone from country on a foundation of bringing the conditions, for creating a circular mitted to working with cus- to country. This means, there benefits of sustainability to our economy for plastics. It’s why we tomers to design packaging is no single solution which will organisation and those of our became a founding member of solutions which can facilitate be e†ective globally and no customers and partners and the Polyolefin Circular Econo- recyclability and reuse. consistent starting point in the that will remain unchanged. my Platform (PCEP), which was Reuse can o†er some ad- journey towards circularity. Meanwhile, we are maintain- established in 2019 as an inter- vantages over recycling but it European countries, for ex- ing our focus on being diversified national forum through which can also come with additional ample, will likely start from a geographically, and on produc- stakeholders across the polyole- handling, logistics or require well-developed infrastructure ing products that are innovative, fin value chain can collaborate to additional materials, so it isn’t which have Extended Producer value-adding and address secu- promote the circular economy. always an appropriate option. Responsibility (EPR) schemes lar trends such as feeding grow- In addition to recent tech- We should look into evaluating in place, as a way of holding ing populations, EVs, electronics nological advancements, we which solution is most suited to manufacturers accountable for and driving sustainability. are working with retailers and the product. Making a compar- the end-of-life impacts of their But we are also diversified partners on small-scale projects ison between these options is plastic products and packag- in terms of applications to end which demonstrate that clos- complex, but necessary, so we ing. As a result, there will likely customer, which is allowing us ing the loop is possible, taking rely on the outcomes of full life already exist streams of used to better weather the storm. used household packaging and cycle analysis to guide us. plastics that can serve as circu- While some sectors have seen turning it into new materials to lar feedstock. a downturn, like the automo- be used again. Our recent pilot Can you talk about the devel- However, in developing tive industry, others have had a project working together with opments in sustainable pack- countries, more basic collection considerable increase, like the Tesco, Plastic Energy, Sealed Air aging we may look forward to processes may need to be put healthcare industry and pack- and Bradbury’s Cheese demon- in the near future? Improve- in place in the absence of EPR aging. We are closely collabo- strated, for the first time, that ments in recycling and recy- schemes to help collect the rating with our clients to under- flexible plastic can be continu- clability? used plastic ready for recycling. stand market needs and adjust ously recycled and reused and While there has been prog- To create a circular economy for production accordingly. that closing the loop on used ress and improvements in re- used plastics, seismic regulato- The pandemic has also flexible packaging is possible. cycling technology, one of the ry shifts are needed to stimulate sparked a realization of just largest obstacles to adoption is market, system and technolog- how vital plastics are for appli- How are you responding, e.g. the absence of an established ical developments, on both a cations such as healthcare and local and global level. hygiene. From lifesavers such as syringes, medical masks In what way has the Corona and PPE, to consumer items crisis aected Sabic in terms of such as hand sanitizer, plastic e.g. products, sales, outlook? has proved its worth across all While COVID-19 is a unique facets of the global response situation which is constantly to COVID-19. What is import- evolving, we expect the impact ant is to demonstrate where of the pandemic to continue in- plastic is the most appropriate material to be used and how it can be used responsibly.

Sabic’s certified circular polymers have enabled Uni- lever's Knorr brand to provide sustain- able packaging

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The joint journey towards sustainable

packaging Tube packaging from Huhtamaki

Advanced recycling company APK AG and Finnish packaging specialist Huhtamaki Flexibles Packaging Europe have joined together to develop a laminate tube packaging incorporating recycled material with the quality required for, among others, cosmetics packaging. Sustainable Plastics spoke with Jakob Settele, of Huhtamaki Flexibles Packaging Europe and Florian Riedl, of APK AG, on the challenges and progress made to date.

he year 2025 is ap- cessful creation of a packaging required quality and quantities aging. We specifically produce proaching fast. It material that contains a particu- for Huhtamaki to implement in a quality recyclate that is suit- is a year with spe- lar amount of recycled content tube laminates, said Settele. able as an alternative to virgin cial meaning for the by 2025 will be a complicated APK’s Newcycling facility in material and have, in fact, been Tpackaging industry: the year task for some products, but we Merseburg, Germany, valorises producing LDPE for use in pack- when a great many packag- are obviously working tremen- post-industrial multi-polymer, aging applications for nearly two ing suppliers, brand owners dously hard to advance this de- multi-layer plastic waste via a years already. So we are very and major corporations will be velopment.” dissolution recycling process happy about the cooperation called on to make good on their Huhtamaki, like other packag- at industrial scale. The plant, with Huhtamaki – especially as pledges regarding plastic pack- ing producers, is therefore facing which has been online since in Huhtamaki, we have found a aging and the circular economy. an enormous challenge, he said. June 2019, features an annual partner who has introduced a Major players in the industry “Not only do we need to integrate capacity of 8,000 t/a. The mixed new approach and a new appli- have undertaken to reduce the recycled content into our solu- input material - 70% LDPE and cation with its tube laminates.” use of virgin plastics, both by tions, but we must also success- 30% PA - is transformed into Riedl explained that there increasing the amount of recy- fully apply design for recycling ,” high-purity recyclates. were two important points to cled content used and by better said Settele. “Our cooperation “From the start, our aim has keep in mind when integrating design: creating their packag- with APK is a great start.” not been to produce recyclate recycled material into a com- ing to be reusable, recyclable or for those market segments that plicated application like tube compostable so that it can stay have already been integrating laminate. One is function, which in the circular economy. Suitable for packaging recyclates into their products refers to the mechanical proper- “The big urgency is mainly Huhtamaki was searching for for the past twenty years – ap- ties of the material itself: it must heard from the multinational a partner with a technology plications like furniture, park not flake or otherwise fail. The brand owners, as various com- that would enable it within the benches or landscaping,” said second is the filling good, or, in mitments were made at a stage short term to incorporate re- Florian Riedl, Director Business other words, the product inside when not all necessary informa- cycled content into one of the Development at APK AG. “With the packaging, which in this spe- tion in terms of quality require- packaging materials in their our LDPE recyclates, we are cific case would be cosmetics. ments and compliance was portfolio - in this case, tube currently focussing on packag- APK’s recyclate material available,” said Jakob Settele, laminates. APK was not only ing segments such as non-food meets both the physical and the sales manager at Huhtamaki able to come up with a suitable and cosmetic packaging, in the filling good requirements, said Flexible Packaging. ”The suc- material, but also to provide the longer-term also on food pack- continued on page 22

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continued on page 21 PE/PA multi-layered non-recy- ulatory requirements, according Riedl, something that doesn’t clable films that would other- to Jakob Settele. often happen. wise be incinerated. The New- When integrating recycled In 2020, APK’s Mersalen cycling solvent-based process content into tube laminates, LDPE NCY, the name under separates these into PA and the optics can change due to which its LDPE recyclate is LDPE. Both products are sub- the fact that the laminate sur- sold, first underwent a com- sequently sold by APK. face changes. How this a‘ ects prehensive migration analysis, “It’s a one-step solvent pro- the regulatory requirements re- which confirmed its purity lev- cess,” explained Riedl. “What mains to be seen. el to be ‘decisively higher’ than we do is dissolve the LDPE. “In the past, using standard recyclates from standard me- Everything that is not LDPE – virgin material, we had ob- chanical recycling. Then, two including the PA - remains sol- tained food approval for nearly human toxicological risk evalu- id. Suppose you were to have 100% of our packaging materi- ations were performed by two three polymers, for example al. Now, food compliance might independent toxicology experts. LDPE, PP and PA. You would be slightly over-engineered for The purpose was to evaluate then need a two-step approach, certain cosmetic applications. the use of APK’s LDPE recyclate where first the LDPE could be But on the other hand, there types in both flexible and rigid dissolved, then the PP, while the are still regulatory requirements packaging applications for cos- Florian Riedl PA could remain solid. That’s that must be met,” he empha- metics and in personal hygiene possible, but it’s not something sised. “The next big task is to products. Both these evalua- we do in our existing produc- assess what requirements are tions concluded that the recy- tion line. Theoretically, the dis- really necessary for the filling clates could indeed be safely be solving stage can be repeat- good itself. The fact that APK used for these applications and ed again and again, but it is a has conducted the risk assess- that they met all mandatory le- question of economics: what ment and confirmed that the gal requirements. makes sense? The one-step resins produced and integrated “Our Newcycling technology solvent approach is the easiest in our tube laminates are suit- produces very pure, homoge- and works perfectly to separate able for cosmetic applications is nous LDPE, good quality recy- two polymers.” a big step forward.” clate and we were very proud The technology has the add- The discussion is basically when this was confirmed by ed advantage of coming un- about whether and the extent these expert assessments,” der the definition of recycling, to which a less smooth surface Riedl said. as this has been transposed – or any other imperfection re- into the national legislation sulting from incorporating recy- of, among other EU member cled content into the tube lam- How does the Newcy- states, Germany. This is not the inate structure - is an issue. If cling technology work? cases for all types of chemical using recycled content in pack- recycling. What this means is aging material is prioritised, The Newcycling dissolution Jakob Settele that the recycled material from some variation in the optics or technology developed by APK the Newcycling will count as haptics of a tube might be ac- falls into the category of phys- else that is not allowed to be recycled content against the EU ceptable to brand owners and ical, solvent-based recycling to used in cosmetics packaging,” plastics strategy target for 2025. end customers, he added. “But which innovative process steps explained Riedl. “In this way, “In Germany, we call it mate- of paramount importance is of have been added, supplement- we can extract precisely the rial recycling, meaning it’s a re- course ensuring that packaging ing the mechanical pre-treat- polymer we are targeting from cycling process that keeps the is safe for the filling goods.” ment steps which have been a mix of multi-layers or other material intact – which is what And much has changed in done for the past 20-30 years, mixed plastics, obtaining highly our process does. Mechanical the three years since APK’s first i.e. sorting, washing, shredding. pure LDPE that can be returned recycling is also a kind of ma- sample materials were o‘ ered It is sometimes misinterpreted into packaging.” terial recycling. That said, me- to customers for cosmetics ap- as chemical recycling, a tech- Obviously, chemical recy- chanical recycling is the only plications, Riedl confirmed. nology generating increasing cling yields high-quality, pure process that has been stan- “Back then, all the brand interest from the industry and materials as well. However, dardized up to now. Our pro- owners immediately responded comprising a class of recycling the process is far more energy cess is di‘ erent from mechan- with a demand for food-con- processes in which the polymer intensive, as both depolymer- ical recycling, so we still need tact approved materials. Recy- chains are broken down into isation and reconstructing the to develop standards in order to cled polyolefins, however, are smaller entities – into mono- polymer cost energy. develop a sound basis for mar- not approved for food contact, mers and other chemical base “It’s the reason we have ket growth,” said Riedl. which means that brand own- units. From these monomers, a quite positive LCA, which ers have had to reconsider this new polymers can be built. means that applications using position and to reveal more “The big di‘ erence with our material have a minimal Challenges about the exact requirements to chemical recycling is that, in- CO2 footprint. Plus, it can re- For Huhtamaki, these were all be met. As Settele pointed out, stead of breaking down the place the use of virgin material,” benefits that weighed in the de- they are now more open to dis- polymer chain, we keep it in- he added. cision to partner with APK. cussion. After all, the strict regu- tact. With our solvent we can The input for the Merseburg The two major challenges lations that apply to food do not select and selectively dissolve Newcycling production line right now are, on the one hand, actually apply to cosmetics. But the polymer that we want, and currently consists of post-in- meeting the quality require- in the past, food-contact ap- we have good control over the dustrial multi-layer films. It is a ments of the market and on the proved virgin materials tended SOI substances and everything true waste stream – these are other, meeting the ongoing reg- to be used simply to be on the

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safe side. Now that we can oer “We knew three years ago, a recyclate that is approved for APK’s Newcycling facility when we were building our ex- cosmetic applications makes in Merseburg, Germany isting plant, that a second plant the discussion easier.” would follow, and that this sec- ond plant would, from the start, process post-consumer waste,” Making it oicial said Riedl. Huhtamaki has now success- Looking ahead, given the fully produced a plastic barri- technological developments, er laminate (PBL) with a total and in view of research and de- thickness of 300 microns for the velopment eorts, APK is hope- production of laminated tubes ful of obtaining approval for containing 19% LDPE recyclate food contact applications in the material produced by APK. mid-term. For its PCR products, “This is, of course, only the this could be by 2025 , shortly beginning,” said Settele. “Late after the new post-consumer last December, we received waste plant has come online. oicial RecyClass approvals Food contact approval for recy- for three of our tube laminate clates derived from post-indus- structures, including our stan- trial waste sources could well dard PBL 300 micron total be obtained even before 2025. thickness, the laminate which Our standard PLB 300 has 15 expected to come online in the As Riedl emphasised: “This is was the basis for the develop- microns of EVOH; but having next few years. our journey and we appreciate ment together with APK. This obtained RecyClass approval To bridge the gap between very much the opportunity to positive approval led to the de- for this tube, we have now the now and when the new plant ‘travel’ together with Huhta- cision to proceed to the second oicial certificate that these 15 goes live, APK is working on a maki and other strong partners certification round, in which the microns of EVOH do not disturb compound solution that is a mix from all over the value chain PBL made with post-industrial the HDPE recycling process.” of post-industrial and post-con- to achieve true circularity for recyclate from APK will be as- The RecyClass test was a sumer based recyclate. There a growing number of plastic sessed. Once we obtain Recy- rigorous one, he said, which is a clearly felt demand from packaging segments.” Class approval for that, we will involved putting 10-20 kg of the market for post-consumer Also for Huhtamaki, the de- have taken another big step ready-made tubes - laminate recycled material, which APK velopment of tube laminates forward: we will be able to in- with shoulder, cap and print is anxious to supply with 'high incorporating recycled mate- tegrate recycled content into - through a realistic existing quality, close to virgin' resin, es- rial is only the start. Ultimate- an oicially certified recyclable HDPE recycling process. Af- pecially as more competition is ly, the company aims to inte- flexible packaging.” terwards, new products were starting to enter the market. grate recycled content into all Huhtamaki is confident that produced from the recyclate The new factory, although the flexible packaging in their approval will be obtained as the derived from the recycled tubes. based on the same patents and portfolio, as well as to increase original structure and the struc- In other words, the tests exam- the same technology, will dier the percentage of recycled ture containing the recycled ined both whether the tubes in a number of important re- content used. material from APK are identical disturbed the recycling pro- spects from APK’s existing plant. The company is currently fo- in terms of functionality. cess and whether HDPE bottles “One big development in the cussing this development on “The only dierence with the could be produced from the second plant will be that we two market segments. The first standard PBL is that we have resins produced. will move from a separation is cosmetics, the second, indus- replaced the outer PE film layer “So this was dierent from process more to an extraction trial applications. “Oral care is with a PE film layer containing various other recycling cer- and purification process. Un- another very interesting field, post-industrial recyclate,” ex- tificates - also available on like PIR, which is a clean but this will be developed at a plained Settele. the market - which only con- waste stream, post-consumer later stage due to current chal- Brand owners cannot aord duct theoretical assessments,” streams contain contaminated lenges in matching regulatory to run any risk, added Riedl. Settele pointed out. printed and non-printed waste requirements,” said Settele. Many are just now starting their “We are proud to have been mixed together. Using an ex- He continued: “What we see first projects with recycled poly- granted them, because they traction and purification pro- as really important is the need olefins. “They have far more ex- might be the most complicated cess will enable us to extract for regular and comprehensive perience in this area with PET, ones to achieve.” colour pigments, inks and oth- flow of communication between which they have been using for er additives,” said Riedl. all the parties involved. This will several years and where there is He added that a pre-cleaning be crucial in overcoming the re- a clean bottle stream available, What’s next? step would also be part of the maining challenges. In the past, but especially for LDPE, the first One of the next big goals for process. Post-consumer waste there were often steps involved commercial projects are only APK will be to use its technol- is full of organics, paper and between us and the brand own- just coming on the market.” ogy to process post-consum- other things, making pre-wash- ers. Today, it is very important to What about the demand for er, as well as post-industrial, ing and pre-cleaning essential. have good communication lines mono-material structures – is waste. Plans for a second plant, APK will use a hot washing pro- from the resin suppliers all the that an issue that Huhtamaki which will use 100% post-con- cess, rather than the cold wash way to the end customers; that has run up against? sumer waste, are currently al- used by mechanical recyclers all involved parties are speaking Settele: “The big discussion ready in the basic engineering today. the same language and know is, what is a mono-material phase. This plant will be built The plant itself will have a ca- what is going on in the market. structure? Most product appli- at an undisclosed location – pacity of around 20,000 t/a in We are all working towards the cations still need a barrier layer. ‘somewhere in Europe’ – and is order to meet market demand. same goal.”

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Whatever the tether While all plastic packaging manufacturers are aware of the same legislation and brand owner definitions when it comes to tethered closures, how they are interpreting this brief varies. Packaging communications consultant Emma-Jane Bately examines the challenges facing producers seeking to design the perfect solution.

rom design capabili- Sustainability is of course with its global beverage brand definitions published by the ties to prototypes and crucial too, but thankfully this customers, the company is con- brands themselves. All man- customer feedback, legislation essentially has sus- tinually working on new itera- ufacturers are working to this all tethered closures tainability built in as standard, tions of its tethered closures in same information, and we all Fhave not been created equal. with the very purpose of its cre- order to create a solution that have the goal of designing and So, what are the possible vari- ation being to support the sort- meets all the legislative and de- producing a tethered closure ations when everyone has the ing and recycling of single use sirable qualities. that meets all the criteria and same information? Admittedly, plastic packaging. So again, it is Andzejus Buinovskis, design is pleasant to use. The evolv- these variations are very small, the small details that make the engineer at RETAL, explains ing nature of the information particularly from a technical dierence, both in terms of the how the widely available infor- makes for a design challenge perspective, yet this is where volume of raw materials used mation from the brands means as well as a design opportuni- the magic happens. and the cost of transportation. that it is the smallest variations ty; I am working on the tiniest Tiny dierences are exactly Plastic packaging manufac- that have the biggest impact. changes, but they are crucial. what matters when it comes to turer RETAL has long engaged “Clearly it is imperative that There is a great challenge in a plastic bottle that a consum- its design team to focus on cre- all the EU SUP Directive rules knowing that you can only er holds up to their mouth; is it ating a tethered closure solu- of tethered closures, such as work with certain aspects and comfortable to drink from? Is it tion that ticks all the boxes, from all beverage containers of up that it is your imagination and easy to open? Perhaps most im- ease of opening to recyclability, to three litres must have clo- skill that makes the dierence.” portantly for the brands, will the and everything in between. sures that remain attached, These potentially crucial consumer buy it again? Thanks to close connections are adhered to, as well as the tiny changes come from the

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speed between variations can goal is to create a solution that expertly tooled so that we can depend greatly; it's easy to get meets the demands of the major create prototypes of our latest stuck inventing something, but brands and can also be suitable iteration; once that is received, also it's the idea that triggers for smaller players in the bev- we will need to quickly find a the variation. It's easy to draw erage industry, in order to oƒer small gap in our production, the model when you know what the cost advantage of high-vol- probably at a time when a ma- you want, so the most import- ume manufacture. He says, “It is chine is being adapted for a new ant element is coming up with unlikely that a brand will ask for colour, so that we can install the invention that meets all the a patent as everyone is working the metal part in two cavities criteria yet is diƒerent enough to to the same legal requirements, and then produce a number of warrant going through the pro- but that is possible. Our goal is to samples to be analysed. At each cess of creating a prototype.” have one tethered closure that is step, our experts are assessing suitable for our whole portfolio of and adapting to make sure ev- preforms while avoiding any al- ery element of the design and The race is on ready patented solutions, that we production is optimised.” These diƒerent variations are at can oƒer to a range of customers the heart of the tethered closure with their own unique variations race among plastic packaging of colour. We can also oƒer laser No going back manufacturers, which is eased engraving on the inside of the What is clear is that tethered somewhat by the fact that the closure for further customisation.” closures are not going any- household name global brands where. While the marathon- that will be the customers for not-a-sprint to design and pro- the closures prefer to have more Why the hold up? duce tethered closures that suit than one supplier to avoid relying So if all the plastic packaging beverage brand requirements on one manufacturer. Buinovskis manufacturers already know and meet EU legalities is still adds, “The well-defined require- the requirements of the glob- in full swing, plastic packaging ments from the brand owners al beverage brand owners that manufacturers are all working are still evolving, so by staying will be buying the tethered clo- to create their own personal in close contact and carefully sures, and the EU SUP Directive solution so that they stay in the listening to their feedback from legislation that states the legal race. But not oƒering a tethered any prototypes, we can pick up requirements of the packag- closure is not going to be an op- on the minute possibilities for ing is publicly available, why is tion soon, it's better to be at the change. The brand owners of- there not already an approved front of the pack in order to gain ten conduct testing panels with solution? As Buinovskis has market share. Buinovskis con- Andzejus Buinovskis both experts and regular con- said, the test groups of experts cludes, “It's inspiring to work on sumers when a prototype has and consumers are still in pro- a packaging solution that is so passed all its existing criteria, so cess of analysing the comfort focused on sustainability and small gaps in the legislation the feedback that comes from and performance of the pro- has such clear rules; the cre- and brand brief; with so much these panels is hugely valuable posed solution from RETAL and ativity has to be in those minute clearly defined and needing and must be used as inspiration other manufacturers, so what margins as this is where our ad- to be adhered to, it is in these for the next iteration.” is clearly defined as a legal re- vantage lies. I find it motivating gaps where designers like Bu- These brand requirements quirement, such as the closure to think of my designs of going inovskis must concentrate. He sit on top of the EU SUP Direc- 'remaining intact', is not oƒered from such a small scale, where continues, “The precision of the tive legislation, and are primarily as a design solution. Plus, the a fraction of a millimeter can geometry is where we will find concerned with how the teth- costs and time involved in each make a diƒerence, then to mass success. I work with the 3DEx- ered closure meets the desired iteration means that what could production, then to the very perience CAD programme CAT- performance of convenience, be nearly perfect is as good as personal interaction of a person IA from Dassault Systèmes so easy opening, and tactileness. In useless. Buinovskis adds, “Our drinking from a bottle of water... that I can change minute details terms of commercial practicality, current position is that we are which is then recycled. It's an and model the variations. The Buinovskis explains that RETAL's waiting for a metal part to be interesting journey.” When is a tether required? In May 2019, the EU formally approved re-used for the same purpose for which gle-use plastic products listed in Part legislation aimed at reducing the use of it was conceived’. It was adopted with the C of the Annex that have caps and lids single-use plastics as part of the Euro- aim of preventing and tackling marine lit- made of plastic may be placed on the pean Strategy for Plastics in a Circular ter by, among other things, phasing out market ‘only if the caps and lids remain Economy. The Single-Use Plastics di- unnecessary single-use plastics, intro- attached to the containers during the rective, or SUP as it is known, defines a ducing economic incentives to reduce products’ intended use stage’. Specifical- single-use plastic product as a product consumption and transition to reusable ly, this refers to all beverage bottles and made ‘wholly or partly from plastic and systems, and establishing high collection composite packaging, i.e. cartons, with a that is not conceived, designed or placed rates and extended producer responsi- capacity of up to three litres. All EU mem- on the market to accomplish, within its bility schemes (EPR). ber states are required to implement this life span, multiple trips or rotations by be- Article 6 of the directive states that directive into their national legislation by ing returned to the producer for refill or Member States must ensure that sin- July 2024 at the latest.

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Electric switch made from PHA. This application is not yet commercial.

PHA: As green as it gets

But still not green enough, says Anindya Mukherjee, a founding member of Go!PHA, the non-profi t initiative created to accelerate the development of the PHA-platform industry. Bio-based and biodegradable even in the marine environment - PHA seems tailored to supply the demand for sustainable materials created by the ramifi cations of the upcoming Single Use Plastic Directive. The EU, however, sees a problem.

n May, 2018, the Europe- from this are natural polymers The questions are import- an Commission proposed that have not been chemically ant ones, particularly in re- a number of new EU-wide modified. lation to polymers such as rules targeting the 10 sin- On the other hand, the di- cellulose derivatives and the Igle-use plastic products most rective emphatically does cov- PHA family, said Mukherjee. often found on Europe’s beach- er plastics based on modified Or, for that matter, wood pulp, es and seas, as well as as well natural polymers, or plastics starches, cotton and proteins, as lost and abandoned – ‘ghost’ manufactured from bio-based, to name but a few. “The dis- - fishing gear. Together these fossil or synthetic starting sub- cussion about cellulose and items, which include, among stances that are not naturally cellulosics like paper, lyocell others, plastic cotton buds, cut- occurring. Examples are poly- and viscose was elucidat- lery, plates and straws, account mer-based rubber items and ed in the latest guideline,” for some 70% of all marine lit- Anindya Mukherjee bio-based and biodegradable he said. “A way was found ter. The proposal was adopted plastics, regardless of whether to ‘grandfather’ in some of in 2019, which means that the clean-up, as well as the costs they are derived from biomass these materials like paper and deadline for implementation by of awareness-raising measures or are intended to biodegrade Lyocell even though it is clear the EU Member States is this to prevent litter in the first place. over time. that paper, for example, is year in July. In other words, natural prod- a chemically modified cellu- The Directive is aimed at ucts cannot be equated with lose. However, these materi- tackling the problem of marine Natural versus nature products occurring in nature. als are now exempt from the pollution head on, and it con- Included in the directive is a Any natural polymer or poly- directive.” tains various measures to do so. paragraph explicitly defining mers occurring in nature that The solution was reached It calls for circular approaches the polymer materials covered either are replicated in an in- by accepting that a natural that give priority to sustainable by this directive, and those that dustrial process such as fer- polymer does not mean it has and non-toxic re-usable prod- are not. And it is here, accord- mentation or have thus been to exist in nature in its native ucts and re-use systems rath- ing to Anindya Mukherjee, that modified, are therefore covered form. “It just has to be a part of er than to single-use products, the confusion starts. by this directive. nature,” Mukherjee explained. aiming first and foremost to re- Plastics are defined as poly- The question of which natu- But the group of polyhy- duce the quantity of waste gen- meric materials to which addi- ral polymers are covered by the droxyalkanoates, he added, is erated. Next to outright bans, tives or other substances may term ‘plastic’, and which may be less fortunate: these biopoly- the directive provides for the have been added, and which exempt, is therefore crucial and mers are currently covered by introduction of extended pro- can function as a main struc- can be answered only by deter- the directive, despite being a ducer responsibility schemes tural component of final prod- mining what a ‘natural polymer natural product and despite to cover the necessary costs of ucts. The directive explicitly is’ and what exactly is meant by their outstandingly sustain- waste management and litter states, however, that excepted ‘chemically modified’. able credentials.

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with various producers - Kane- ka, Newlight Technologies, Danimer Scientific, for example - having successfully scaled up production to industrial or even commercial levels. Around the world, it is being used to replace fossil-based plastics in a host of single-use plastic applications such as straws, serviceware, even co– ee pods. The rest of the world, ex- plained Mukherjee, has desig- PHA fermentation inside living microorganisms nated biodegradability - see, for example, the SUP legisla- tion passed in China in January PHA is a natural polymer that 2020 - as the criterion to ban or Disposable serviceware is produced by natural routes exempt use of plastics. from PHA in nature, and industrial fer- “There are standards for bio- mentation processes simply degradability – also for marine make them economically via- biodegradability – that are used So, what is PHA again? when it comes to the end of ble,” Mukherjee explained. to certify this. The EU is the life. It can be reused. It can be For commercial purposes, only one using this natural poly- Bacteria produce PHA as a recycled back to the polymer the process is scaled in order to mer criterion to exclude PHA source of energy and as a car- for new applications. It can be be able to produce commercial – but to include cellulose,” said bon store through the fermen- recycled back to raw materials volumes, but it remains a bac- Mukherjee. tation of renewable feedstocks to be used as renewable feed- terial process that produces a Yet PHA’s biodegradability such as sugars or fatty acids, stock. It can be recycled to the bacterial polyester, he said. profile is very similar to cellu- or any other carbon-containing environment through industrial “We have talked to the Com- lose, he pointed out. “Cellulose substrate. This natural process or home composting. It can be mission about this, but with and PHA have the same order can be mimicked in an indus- recycled through incineration disappointing results.” of magnitude biodegradation trial setting using feedstocks creating renewable energy. The stance adopted by the pattern. All other plastics re- that can range from wastewater And lastly, it can be recycled to European Commission is even placements and biopolymers streams to plastic waste, renew- nutrients for living organisms more puzzling in view of the fact are several orders of magnitude able methane and carbon diox- through full biodegradation. that Europe has spent over €110 longer in biodegradation.” ide. They are a class of natural million sponsoring research into It seems odd: other parts materials that have existed in na- the valorization of waste to pro- of the world are happy to em- ture for millions of years. These Drawing the line duce PHA. One such project – brace PHA as a full-fledged materials are both bio-based PHA may well be a natural poly- EUROPHA - developed a PHA biodegradable, sustainable and biodegradable, similar to mer, but in the eyes of the EU production process using mixed biopolymer and to support other naturals materials such as it is classified as an artificial or microbial cultures, enabling the and promote its further devel- cellulose, proteins and starch. a modified polymer and hence use of low-cost agro-food waste opment and use in single use According to GO!PHA, PHA not allowed to be used as a sin- with no market value, no food applications. There, the science products range from amorphous gle use plastic replacement. competition, and no price volatil- is straightforward. Europe, how- to highly crystalline, and run The reason? ity e– ects. Further research was ever, continues to tenaciously from high-strength, hard and “The basic problem is the fact aimed at developing high quality adhere to its own criteria and brittle materials to low-strength, that PHA is considered to be a food-grade biodegradable PHA interpretation of the concept of soft and elastic. The versatility of fermentation-based product,” for packaging that could be dis- ‘natural’ – despite what scien- the PHA family accommodates said Mukherjee. posed of as organic waste. tists, including EU’s own expert a wide range of market applica- ECHA considers fermenta- Moreover, a recently con- panel SAPEA, say. tions, due to their biocompatibil- tion - in their REACH Guidelines cluded study by the EU expert How this will a– ect future ity, biodegradability and green – to be an industrial process, committee entitled “Science research and business devel- credentials. Depending on type even though, in the EU Legisla- Advice for Policy by European opments in PHA materials in and grade, PHAs can be used tion on Flavorings, for example, Academies” on the ‘Biodegrad- Europe remains to be seen, but for injection moulding, extrusion, products produced through fer- ability of plastics in the open there seems little doubt that not thermoforming, foam, non-wo- mentation processes are con- environments, SAPEA, De- recognising these materials’ vens, fibers, 3D-printing, paper sidered to be natural. And what cember 18, 2020’ clearly states potential and eminent suitabili- and fertiliser coating, glues, about cheeses, wine and beer, that the field of biodegradable ty for a least some of the prod- adhesives, as additive for rein- or sauerkraut - should these polymers is one that is rapid- ucts included in the ban, could forcement or plasticisation or therefore also be reclassified as ly evolving and high-tech and at least result in Europe’s falling as building block for thermosets artificial? They, too, are all the that ‘policy should avoid plac- out of step with measures tak- in paints and foams. The main result of fermentation using liv- ing barriers to future develop- en elsewhere. This is surely not markets where PHAs have al- ing organisms. ments and innovations.’ the intention of the directive. ready achieved some degree of “Of course: PHA is the result Achieving a clean, non-pollut- penetration are packaging, food of a fermentation process. The ed environment - in the oceans service, agriculture and medical point here is that fermentation Europe versus the world and on land - demands collabo- products. is a natural process - one that Outside Europe, PHA is start- rative, coordinated action. PHA is equally versatile occurs everywhere in nature. ing to gain real momentum, It is time to get on with it.

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Palsgaard’s plant-based polymer additives benefit from the com- pany’s vast expertise in natural emulsifiers for the food industry. Palsgaard photos Natural Solutions for Enhanced Food Safety

Bio-based additives o er signifi cant benefi ts in an increasingly sustainable and circular plastics industry, writes Christina Normann Christensen, Product & Application Manager at Palsgaard. ‘Plant-based additives provide major benefi ts over synthetic alternatives, without compromising food safety or end-of life recycling’.

n a world with increased requires packaging solutions ca- extending shelf-life and using among these, the surfactants focus on responsible and pable of extending the shelf-life fewer resources. In food pro- are of particular benefit to plas- e icient use of raw mate- of products. With a full range of duction, these additives soon tics used in the food packaging rials, plastic and particu- food-grade and bio-based poly- played an instrumental role in industry. This is due to their Ilarly packaging articles are fac- mer additives building on more reducing spattering, preventing ability to reduce the fogging on ing intensive scrutiny to move than 100 years of expertise in thermal shock, controlling vis- the inside and the accumulation toward more sustainable and natural emulsifiers, Palsgaard cosity and facilitating aeration. of static electricity on the out- closed-loop solutions. While the is addressing these needs in a Backed by their fundamental side of the packaging material. use of polymers from renewable, fast-changing industry. ability to mix oil and water, they Both properties rely on the non-fossil and recycled resourc- were eventually found to of- migration of the Einar additives es continues to gain momen- fer significant benefits also as from within the polymer matrix tum, ‘minor’ components such Dual Use Chemistry functional polymer additives in to the surface of the packag- as additives are often still over- When Einar Viggo Schou non-food applications, such as ing material. There, in anti-fog looked, although they can have invented modern plant-based packaging materials. Named and anti-stat applications, they a crucial e ect on the process- emulsifiers back in 1917, the Einar in memory of the compa- interact with condensation ing, handling and functionality of application focus was on foods ny founder’s entrepreneurship droplets on the inner surface or materials. Plant-based additives such as margarine, bakery, con- and values, they serve as sur- attract ambient moisture to the provide major benefits over syn- fectionery and ice-cream. The factants, dispersing aids, age- outer, respectively. Although thetic alternatives without com- resulting Palsgaard range of ing modifiers, slip enhancers, migration here is a desirable promising food safety or end-of natural emulsifiers added taste, coatings and mould release e ect, there are strict migration life recycling. mouthfeel and texture while agents. As most important limits that must be adhered to Brand owners in the food, cosmetics and other consumer markets are seeking e ective ways of reducing their car- bon footprint and responding to growing demands for more sustainable products with nat- ural and renewable ingredients. People today want ‘bio’ solu- tions, not just in the food or skin care items they buy, but also in packaging. There, plant-based additives help designers, con- verters and end-users of pack- aging plastic materials minimise the impact of their products on Figure 2: The principle of migration: The Einar® additives which are applied as internal additives migrate from fossil depletion and waste. At the inside the polymer matrix to the surface where their surfactant nature lowers the surface energy of the polymer, same time, the quest for reduc- thus preventing fogging and static build-up. ing food losses in a hungry world

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ANTI-STAT PERFORMANCE IN INJECTION MOULDED HOMO PP in food packaging to eliminate Additive concentration is 0.50% health hazards and prevent the taste of the packaged food from No eff ect 7 being a ected. In this context, it is important to recognise that 6 most Einar products are not subject to specific migration 5 limits. Beyond meeting these key requirements of food safe- 4 ty, bio-based additives derived from edible plants can also help 3 to minimise the overall additive concentration in the polymer 2

formulation. With regard to the Static decay time (sec) need for more circularity, they 1 have little – if any – impact on 0 the recycling of post-consum- er packaging, whether chemi- 1 day 1 week 1 month 3 months 6 months 12 months 18 months cally or mechanically. Notably, Einar® 411 Ethoxylated Amine/GMS combination they are not known to degrade into harmful compounds which Superior anti-static coverage: Einar 411 anti-static additive is able to rival or even surpass the performance of tradi- might contaminate the recy- tional petrol-based and less safe additive o erings such as GMS and ethoxylated amine combinations. clate, promote discolouration or loss of properties. agents, and pigment dispersants processing, conveying, stack- s make the transition of sustain- in colour masterbatches. ing and packaging. For ex- able plant-based technology ample, high static is known to into successful additive solu- Responsible Choice reduce the acceptable rolling tions as flawless as possible. The bottom line here is that No Fogging, No Static, speed in film production, cre- For instance, static decay time Palsgaard’s bio-based additives Better Dispersion ate handling problems during and surface resistivity of appli- are highly sustainable solutions stacking, causing congestion cation samples are evaluated at that match or exceed the func- Transparent food packaging on conveyor belts, and com- ambient as well as low humidi- tional performance of conven- films and containers require plicating the sealing of pack- ty, where the ability to dissipate tional synthetic migratory addi- long-lasting clarity to maintain ages for powdery products. In charges is reduced. Resistance tives while being safe enough to the aesthetic consumer ap- electronics packaging, it may to hot and cold fogging is tested eat - thus removing health con- peal of the packaged product. even damage the packaged in a 60°C water bath and a 5°C cerns. In chemical terms, they Varying conditions of ambient product. As they migrate to cooling cabinet, respectively. are glycerol and polyglycerol humidity and temperature in the polymer surface, Einar an- Plastics processing capabilities, esters made exclusively from these applications can cause ti-static additives interact with including injection moulding, vegetable fatty acids. Origins the formation of condensation ambient moisture to create a blow moulding and calendaring include certified palm oil, which droplets and fogging on the conductive layer that will ef- equipment, are not only avail- provides the greatest yield per inner surface, unless the pack- fectively dissipate the static. able for pigment dispersion and hectare, followed by rapeseed, aging is made from a material As liquid dispersion aids in mould release trials. They are sunflower, coconut and other modified with an e ective an- colour masterbatches, the bio- also used to investigate the im- vegetable oils. All Einar addi- ti-fog additive. Plant-based an- based additives enable a much pact of additive loading on melt tives are FDA and EU approved ti-fog additives from Palsgaard cleaner and safer production flow, mechanical properties and for food-contact applications. cannot prevent the occurrence process compared to traditional surface quality. Produced in CO2-neutral fac- of moisture but will lower the powdered waxes, while resulting Beyond supporting the plant- tories, these renewable and an- surface tension on the inside in a more e icient distribution of based additives business, the imal-free additives have a per- so that the moisture will spread the colour pigments. This in turn company’s independently op- fect fit in innovative, responsible as a continuous thin film across means that pigment loadings erated Nexus research and de- packaging solutions and are an the surface. Apart from preserv- can be reduced to achieve the velopment facility ensures that it excellent drop-in replacement ing a clear view of the food, this targeted colour strength, which will be able to meet the growing for fossil-based additives in ex- also protects its freshness and saves cost, helps achieve faster needs of the plastics industry for isting polymer formulations. extends its shelf-life. colour changes and enhances more natural, bio-based product Typical applications are poly- Another desirable function the sustainability profile of both ingredients in the long term. olefin (PE and PP) resins used of surfactants in packaging the masterbatch producer and Plant-based polymer additives in injection moulding, film and materials is the prevention the polymer. have become a clear and fea- foam processing lines for a wide of static accumulation on the sible alternative to competitive range of end-products from food outer surface. Static electric- fossil-based products. From the packaging and food storage to ity attracts dust and other Sustainability renewable source to uncompro- non-food containers with dura- fine particles, which again and Service mising food safety and e icient ble anti-static and anti-fogging means less transparency and performance, they o er brand performance. In other areas, the creates an unhygienic look of Palsgaard’s product develop- owners, converters and end-us- bio-based additives are used as the product. Just as import- ment and customer project ers a superior and responsible ageing modifiers in PP and PE ant, however, the build-up of support is backed by a dedicat- choice in line with consumer foams, slip agents in PET, PLA static charges on plastic sur- ed Polymer Application Centre, demands and strict regulatory and other polyesters, coating faces can result in a number which is fully equipped for me- requirements – for healthier and powders for EPS, mould release of serious problems during ticulous testing and validationto more sustainable applications.

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scale, eco-friendly, and cost-ef- Biopolymers: from fective at the same time. Cellulose-based polymers promise to potential Cellulose obtained from plants The bioplastics space is one in which new opportunities are has unique characteristics due to its repetitive connection of starting to open up at an ever-increasing pace. In the below, -D-glucose building blocks. , , and This unique sugar-derived poly- Raj Shah Alan Flamberg Gabby Massoud Mrinaleni Das mer, the most abundant natural o er a brief look at some of what’s going on in this market. polymer on earth, is biodegrad- able and chemically modifiable. In their 2018 study, entitled Cur- n the 1870s, the first com- and incineration could reach tainability or biodegradability; rent progress in production of mercially successful syn- 56 gigatons between now and they tend also to be non-toxic, biopolymeric materials based thetic polymer material 2050, which is 50 times high- non-immunogenic, non-car- on cellulose, cellulose nanofi- was produced by John er than the emission of coal cinogenic, and carbon neutral. bres, and cellulose derivatives, IWesly Hyatt using camphor plants, noted Carroll Mu ett, Biopolymers have widespread Shaghaleh, Xu, and Wang distin- and nitrocellulose, formed from head of the Center for Inter- applications and can be used in guished three routes to produce cotton and nitric acid, to form national Environmental Law, packaging, coatings, fibres, plas- biopolymers from cellulose. The celluloid. But this polymer was during an NPR ‘All Things Con- tics, paper, biomedical equip- first is through the deconstruc- flammable, and eventually, it sidered’ podcast entitled Plastic ment, medicine, etc. However, tion of cellulose; the second was replaced by less hazardous Has A Big Carbon Footprint — in order to successfully replace is from natural cellulose fibres and cost-e ective polymers like But That Isn't The Whole Story. the ubiquitous petroleum-based and derivative-based fibres, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Ba- The calculations are based on polymers used today, any bio- and the third, through nanocel- kelite, polystyrene, and nylon. global data gathered by CIEL polymer alternative must o er lulose-based polymers, by in- Demand for these polymers on how much climate-warming good processability, the mechan- tegration of nanocellulose into was seen as a positive move: greenhouse gas is produced in ical integrity to function in use, various polymeric materials. they o ered a way to save en- plastics production from cradle and an environmentally-friendly Cellulose consists of long dangered species and supplied to grave. Studies from other end-of-life option, which may in- chains of glucose molecules much-needed resources that researchers have shown even clude biodegradability. joined together. Due to the large were in short supply, while pro- greater impacts. In our view, the biopolymers number of hydroxyl groups on viding less expensive and often the glucose rings along the skel- better performing alternatives eton, there is extensive hydrogen for various natural products, bonding between individual cel- such as silk, ivory and rubber. lulose chains. This results in the The product’s sustainability, crystallization of several cellulose especially at the end of a prod- chains and makes the polymers uct’s useful life, was not consid- strong, durable, biocompatible, ered; durability, however, was chemically modifiable, hydrophil- seen as a desirable attribute. All ic, and biodegradable. of these polymers have since Monomers have traditionally become a vital part of our lives. been obtained from cellulose Now, the demand and pro- through depolymerisation, ei- duction of these polymers is ex- ther through the enzymatic pected to reach approximately hydrolysis of the -1,4 glyco- 1.12 billion tons by 2050, accord- sidic bond or by means of cat- ing to estimates from the Ellen alyst-free hydrolysis in super- MacArthur Foundation in ‘The critical water. Researchers are New Plastics Economy’. Plas- currently also studying the use tic waste - the flip side of their Figure 1: Di erence between the linear and the circular economic model di erent acids to depolymerise durability - has become a major Source: Hong, M., & Chen, E. (2019). Future Directions for Sustainable Polymers. cellulose; if successful, large- concern in landfills and oceans. Science Direct scale production of cellulose Moreover, production of these bulk will become mainstream. polymers follows a linear eco- Cellulose also acts as a feed- nomic model that is unsustain- Biopolymers to watch with the most potential can be stock for sugar-containing poly- able and not environment friend- grouped into four types. The mers by providing C6 mono- ly. The EMF has calculated that Researchers have concluded first two are groups comprise saccharides, which are used for less than 5% of the polymers are that biopolymers could be one two distinct types of polymers biotechnological conversion to recycled, which means potential of the solutions, as these can derived from cellulose, followed chemicals and monomers such cost savings of 100 million dol- be chemically synthesized from by the group of polylactic acid as lactic acid, LevA, 5-HMF, etc., lars are lost every year. biomass or biosynthesized by and PLA-based materials. The which can be used to produce Also, the production process living organisms. The range of final group is made up of a sustainable polymers [4]. of petroleum-based polymers available biopolymers is wide class of biopolyesters known as Natural cellulose fibres and poses an environmental threat and varied; in addition, they ex- polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). derivative-based fibres have in itself. In fact, carbon emis- hibit many di erent characteris- All four types of biopolymers been used to create cellu- sions from plastics production tics, including renewability, sus- are producible on an industrial lose-based biocomposite sys-

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tems. In these systems, cel- ious industries have adopted ing from fertilizers, and cosmet- contact with the alkaline envi- lulose can function as both a this process because it main- ics to medicines and packaging. ronment of Portland cement, reinforcer and a matrix material. tains high elongation values To date, their major hin- it deacetylated and converted Nanocellulose plays a role in (>150%) without compromising drance has been cost e€ ec- back into chitosan again inside the production of polymer nano- the thermo-mechanical proper- tiveness. E€ orts are under way the cement paste, forming poly- composites, where the nanocel- ties of the polymer. to reduce their cost of produc- meric networks. lulose can be used as a filler or PLA has also proven useful in tion cost through the addition Blends of PHB and PHA with reinforcement material of a bio- the biomedical industry, where of low-cost fillers, which could other polymers are currently or other polymeric material or as have researchers developed also serve to enhance perfor- also being experimented with to a matrix material reinforced with PLA-based composite films us- mance. Scientists have used, improve mechanical and mor- so-called guest materials. ‘The ing stearic acid-modified MgO, among other things, sawdust, phological properties. resultant nanocellulose-based a non-toxic, inorganic filler with a wood by-product, to create nanocomposites combine the good biocompatibility and bioac- composites based on PHB; advantages of the guest nano- tive capacity. Among other things, experiments with PHBV filled Outlook material and the nanocellulose adding MgO was shown to a€ ect with cellulose fibres and using Considering the potential ap- substrate and often show syner- the cytocompatibility of the re- hexamethylene diisocyanate to plications of biopolymers, more getic properties’, write the authors sultant composites, and thus cell improve the cellulose interfacial e€ ort is needed on the part of of the abovementioned article. proliferation and matrix bioactivity. adhesion, were found to im- both industry and academia re- prove toughness and increase searchers to make these more elongation value at break. Ulti- cost-e€ ective and producible Polylactic acid The PHA family mately researchers are seeking on an industrial level. That said, Polylactic acid (PLA) is a bio- PHAs, or polyhydroxyal- to develop a system that will progress has been made: five degradable polymer derived kanoates, are natural carbon both improve PHBV’s proper- years ago, biopolymer price lev- from potato pulp, corn, etc., and energy storage compounds ties in terms of thermal resis- els were 35 to 100 times higher using the fermentation pro- – biopolyesters - that are syn- tance and toughness, and bring than those of petroleum-based cess and polycondensation of thesized by micro-organisms in down the costs of this material, polymers. Today, production lactic acid. A commonly used the presence of a carbon source making it suitable for use in in- costs are estimated to be only thermoplastic in additive man- in response to nutrient starva- jection-moulding applications. 2.5 to 7.5 times higher than ufacturing, PLA can be used tion. Scientists have identified Another area where both PLA those of the traditional poly- in the packaging, bio-medical, some 150 PHAs with di€ erent and PHA show promise is the mers. Global bio-based plas- and tissue engineering sec- structures, the most commonly construction sector. One of the tics production is predicted to tors. Poly(lactide-co-glycolide) occurring of which are [(3-hy- new biopolymers, chitosan, has increase in output to more than PLGA copolymer, for example, droxy-butyrate)n] (PHB) and generated commercial inter- 2.6 million tons by 2023. is currently the most widely [((3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hy- est because of its capability to Technological advancements used biodegradable resorbable droxy-valerate)n] (PHBV). significantly - as much as 30%, have increased the econom- suture material, providing high PHAs o€ er a unique combina- according to a 2006 study from ic viability of biopolymers and tensile strength and flexibility tion of properties, which enable Ranilson Bezerra - increase the many companies have started and degrading by hydrolysis of these materials to be considered compressive strength of con- to invest money in this field. the ester bonds into lactic and as an alternative in applications cretes. Chitosan is produced If things go well, this industry glycolic acid, both naturally oc- that would normally use polyole- commercially by deacetylation will continue to grow and help curring in the body’s metabolic fin materials, polyethylene tere- of chitin, the structural element to reduce the carbon footprint pathway. The rate of biodegra- phthalate, polystyrene, and even in the exoskeleton of crusta- and pollution caused by the pe- dation is a function of accessi- polyvinyl chloride. ceans. It has a chemical struc- troleum-based polymers. bility of the water to the ester The microorganisms that pro- ture similar to cellulose, except bond and it is controllable by duce these materials can do so that some of its pendant func- About the authors: varying the ratio of PLA to PGA. from a widely varying range of tional groups contain nitrogen. Raj Shah is a director at Koe- Researchers have also exper- substrates, ranging from co€ ee In another study (Nóbrega, hler Instrument Company in New imented with the use of di€ erent grounds and sewage to waste 2009), it was discovered that York, where he has worked for nanofillers in PLA, attempting to glycerol derived from the bio- when diluted chitosan (0.25 to 2 the last 25 years. tune or adjust its properties and diesel industry. PHAs are eas- M) of acetic acid went through Alan Flamberg holds a Ph.D. in to make this more versatile. Ex- ily biodegradable and thus are acetylation, it returned to chi- Chemistry from Stanford Univer- periments with nanofillers such suitable for applications rang- tin. However, once in came into sity iand spent over 34 years as as cellulose nanocrystals, chitin an industrial scientist working for nanofibres, metal oxides, etc., Rohm and Haas, RohMax (a joint have, for the most part yield- venture with the German company ed disappointing results. The Rohm), Hüls, Degussa- Hüls, De- combination of PLA and chitin gussa and Evonik, from which he nanofibres, for example showed retired in 2018. improved functional and struc- Ms. Gabby Massoud is a chem- tural properties, but obtaining ical engineer with over 20 plus a uniform dispersion of these years’ experience in the chemical nanofibres in the PLA matrix industry with stints at Exxon Cor- at the nano-scale level proved poration and Soltex, USA. to be challenging; it was found Ms. Mrinaleni Das is a student that preparing a pre-composite at Chemical Engineering State based on polyethylene glycol Figure 2: Biopolymer properties and costs University of New York (SUNY), Source: Díez-Pascual A. M. (2019). Synthesis and Applications of Biopolymer (PEG) prior to dispersion in the Composites. International journal of molecular sciences, 20(9), 2321. Stony brook, and an intern at PLA improved the results. Var- Koehler Instrument Company.

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Prices surge amid tightness and pandemic-driven buying estern Euro- pean standard Sabic site at thermoplastic Wilton, UK prices have ris- Wen at a much faster rate than feedstock costs during the last two months. Price hikes are being driven by tight materi- al availability, higher freight rates due to shipping container shortages and pandemic-driv- en stockpiling. The upward price trend is set to continue at least during the first quarter of the year. Polyethylene prices have risen €190-195/tonne through December and January com- pared to an €85/tonne rise in ethylene costs. Polypropylene prices have increased €180- Prices Monitor November 2019 – January 2021 • Sabic extended its force 190/tonne during the same pe- majeure 14 December for LDPE PET PVC LLDPE HDPELDPEPPPS riod against an €80/tonne rise 2.0 from its British site in Wilton for in propylene. PVC prices also an indefinitePET period registered gains higher than the • A larger technical malfunc- proportionate impact of higher tion resulted in the complete PVC ethylene costs. In December, shutdown of all Saudi Ethylene polystyrene prices surged well and Polyethylene plants in Al- 1.5 ahead of styrene monomer Jubail, SaudiLLDPE Arabia 4 December. costs then tracked the feed- This not only a—ected the cracker stock cost rise in January. of the LyondellBasell,HDPE Rotterdam PET prices nudged higher in joint venture with Arab partners both December and January be- Tasnee Petrochemicals and Sa- 1.0 LDPE cause of rising costs, low mate- hara Petrochemical, but also two rial availability and rising import downstream PE facilities PP costs due to limited vessel avail- • Kem One conducted main- ability and surging freight rates. tenance at its Balan PVC plant Polymer producers justified in FrancePS in the latter part of the margin increases on tight 0.5 December. The plant reopened availability and higher prices in a week later. PVC producers; other world regions. Shin Etsu and Inovyn also lifted continent. Building and con- times, a steep rise in freight force majeures. struction sector demand was rates, higher costs and a rise in Demand good also quite strong. Meanwhile, European polymer prices. Demand was better than ex- beverage market demand de- Some of the main production February outlook pected in December and Jan- teriorated due to the worsening issues since last December are The upward price trend is set uary with stockpiling in the UK pandemic situation. summarised below. to continue through the rest of and coronavirus-related stock • An explosion, followed by January and into February. Sup- building on the continent. The a fire, paralysed the plant for ply shortages and market tight- much higher prices did not de- Supply tight styrene butadiene rubber from ness is unlikely to abate any ter buying, as converters’ prime Supply constraints were evi- emulsion polymerisation at Syn- time soon with several cracker aim was to secure volumes amid dent across all European poly- thos Dwory, Poland 7 January and polymer plants undergoing uncertain times. Converters also mer markets over the last two • Total lifted the force ma- maintenance. Imports are also sought to buy additional materi- months. Several planned and jeure 8 January for the produc- dwindling due to tight container al in anticipation of higher prices unplanned plant outages re- tion of polystyrene at its French availability, rising freight costs in the months ahead. duced material availability site in Carling and renewed outages at some Packaging and hygiene sec- while imports were lower than • Ineos called force majeure PE plants in the US. Demand is tor demand was lively due to normal. Tight global container 10 December for acrylonitrile likely to be resilient with buyers coronavirus-related lockdowns availability amid a heavy back- from its German site in Co- prepared to pay higher prices in being introduced across the log in Asia led to increased lead logne-Worringen order to secure volume.

32 January/February 2021

P032_P034_SP_20210209.indd 32 1/29/21 12:18 PM polymer prices Western European standard thermoplastic prices, €/tonne PRODUCT OCT 20 NOV 20 DEC 20 JAN 21 HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE Injection moulding 1260-1300 1265-1305 1325-1365 1465-1505 Film extrusion 1180-1220 1180-1220 1235-1275 1375-1415 Blow moulding 1185-1235 1185-1235 1220-1270 1365-1415 LINEAR LOW DENITY POLYETHYLENE Film grade (butene-based) 1110-1140 1120-1150 1175-1205 1315-1345 LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE Film grade 1220-1250 1230-1260 1320-1350 1470-1500 POLYPROPYLENE Homopolymer film 1215-1265 1215-1265 1265-1315 1395-1445 Homopolymer injection 1195-1235 1195-1235 1240-1280 1370-1410 Copolymer injection 1195-1235 1205-1245 1255-1295 1395-1435 POLYSTYRENE General purpose 1390-1450 1460-1520 1620-1680 1740-1800 High impact injection 1485-1545 1555-1615 1720-1780 1840-1900 POLYVINYL CHLORIDE S-PVC base 1105-1205 1170-1270 1195-1295 1240-1340 Flexible S-PVC compounds 1360-1460 1410-1510 1430-1530 1475-1575 Rigid S-PVC compounds 1400-1500 1450-1550 1460-1560 1505-1605 POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE Bottle-grade 880-980 880-980 900-1000 930-1030 Note: PVC it The make prices to section been reorganised has today’s to relevant marketplace more *revised from previous edition

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European petrochemical feedstock contract prices; November 2020 – January 2021 (€/tonne)

Oct Nov Dec Jan Change Dec/Jan €/tonne Ethylene 775 775 795 860 65 Propylene 720 720 735 800 65 Styrene 721 779 918 102 108 Benzene 353 418 521 686 165 Paraxylene 516 515 545 605 60 Source: PNE

L/LDPE PP PS In December, producers of L/LDPE posted In December, PP producers pushed through In December, polystyrene prices surged due planned price increases way above the €20/ price hikes well above the €15/tonne rise in to a sharp increase in feedstock costs. Many tonne rise in the ethylene contract price. the propylene contract price. Homopolymer producers asked for significantly higher pric- LDPE saw gains of €85/tonne with LLDPE injection grades increased €45/tonne with es than the €139/tonne rise in the styrene registering more moderate gains of €55/ homopolymer film and copolymer injection monomer reference price with one supplier tonne. LDPE supply was very low due to grades up by €50/tonne. asking for a price increase of €250/tonne. several plant outages and strong export or- Supply was hampered by a number of Nevertheless, GPPS prices were up €160/ ders. LLDPE supply was not quite as short as planned and unplanned plant outages and tonne over the month with HIPS increasing LDPE. There was however less Middle East- lower imports. Demand was unusually good €165/tonne. ern imported material available. for December. Converters were pre-buying Material availability was limited by several Demand was livelier than usual for Decem- in expectation of higher January prices. Film planned and unplanned plant outages and ber with stockpiling in the UK and coronavi- grade demand benefitted from strong pack- strong exports orders from Asia. Demand was rus-related stock building on the continent. aging sales as a result of coronavirus-relat- high as many converters bought whatever Converters were also aware of large cost in- ed lockdowns being introduced across the additional material they could before a further creases to be passed through in January. continent. expected price hike in January. In January, producers asked for increases In January, PP producers called for price In January, PS maintained a strong upward of €200/tonne even though ethylene costs hikes of up to €200/tonne, which was well in trajectory following the €108/tonne rise in the had only risen €65/tonne. Producers justified excess of the €65/tonne rise in the propylene styrene monomer reference price. By mid- the margin increase on material tightness contract price. Producers justified the hefty month, contract prices were settling €110- and higher prices in other world regions. L/ increase on plant outages leading to market 120/tonne higher compared to the previous LDPE prices had increased €140-150/tonne tightness, strong demand and higher pric- month. The tight supply situation has eased by mid-month. es in other world regions. PP prices had in- somewhat compared to December and de- creased €140-150/tonne by mid-January. mand was normal. HDPE PVC PET In December, HDPE sellers managed price increase above the €20/tonne ethylene con- PVC prices continued their sharp upward December PET prices saw increases of up tract price increase as a result of tightening trend in December with gains above the to €20-30/tonne with the increases mostly availability and higher than usual demand. rise in ethylene costs. PVC base resin pric- reflecting higher paraxylene costs (+€30/ Price increases varied between diŒerent es increased by €25/tonne, unplasticized. tonne), reduced availability, disrupted im- grades; blow moulding gained €45/tonne, PVC compounds increased €20/tonne with ports amid container issues, and an uptick in blown film €50/tonne and injection mould- price stability for additives. Plasticised PVC demand amid supply concerns. ing €60/tonne. compounds increased €30/tonne reflecting European PET prices accelerated after im- Supply from European producers was higher plasticiser prices. port PET prices started being oŒered above rather limited by unscheduled plant out- PVC base material remained short be- the local ranges as a result of the shortage of ages while imports from the US were low- cause of several planned and unplanned shipping containers in Asia and surging freight er than normal. Demand was much livelier plant stoppages. Demand from building and costs. Local supply remained low despite than usual as converters restocked in antic- construction was high and many converters some plants returning after maintenance. Bev- ipation of a large price rise at the beginning were building stocks ahead of an expected erages demand deteriorated further due to the of the New Year. large price rise in January. worsening pandemic situation while hygiene In January, HDPE producers called for In January, PVC prices maintained an up- sector demand remained strong. price hikes of €200/tonne despite only a €65/ trend for the eighth month in a row. Producers PET markets began the year on a firm tonne rise in the ethylene contract price. Pro- called for price increases of up to €100/tonne, footing, supported by higher costs and low- ducers justified the price rise on grounds of which is well in excess of the proportionate er availability due to a lack of imports from tight availability due to plant outages, lower €32.5/tonne ethylene cost rise. Producers Asia. Initial January oŒers showed increases imports, and higher prices in other world re- said the price increase was due to tight avail- of €30-40/tonne. Import prices lost competi- gions. HDPE prices had increased €140-150/ ability, a need to compensate for low caustic tiveness due to the surging freight rates amid tonne by mid-month. soda prices and good demand. a lack of vessel availability.

34 January/February 2021

P032_P034_SP_20210209.indd 34 1/29/21 12:18 PM CONFERENCES & EVENTS

April/May 2021 June 22-25 October 12-16 2nd European Chemical Plast Fakuma Recycling Conference Location: Fiera Milano, Milan, Italy Location: Friedrichshafen, Germany Location: BluePoint Brussels (80 Bd. A. Reyers 1030 Brussels) Organiser: Promaplast srl Organiser: P. E. Schall GmbH & Co. KG Organiser: Chemical Recycling Europe/Polymer Comply Europe Tel: +39 02 8228371 Tel: +49 (0) 7025 9206-0 Web: https://chemical-recycling-europe.prezly.com Web: www.plastonline.org Web: www.schall-messen.de May 3-5 July 6-7 November 15-18 Plastics Recycling Conference 2nd PHA platform World ArabPlast and Trade Show Congress Location: DWTC, Dubai, UAE Location: Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, USA Location: Maternushaus, Cologne Organiser: Al Fajer Information & Services Organiser: Resource Recycling, Inc Organiser: Polymedia Publisher GmbH, co-organised by GO!PHA Tel: +971 4 3406888 extn: 240/224 Tel: +1 503-233-1305 Tel: +49 (2161)-6884469 Email: [email protected] Web: www.plasticsrecycling.com Web: http: //bit.ly/2Sv7ZYo Website: www.alfajer.net May 17-21 July 22-23 17-21 February 2022 NPE, all in-person components Plastic Recycling PlastIndia cancelled Conference Asia 2.0 Location: Pragati Maidan exhibition grounds, New Delhi Location: Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Florida Location: Hyatt Regency, New Delhi (Bhikaji Kama Place) Organiser: Plastindia Foundation Organiser: Plastics Industry Association (PLASTICS) Organiser: APIC Web: www.plastindia.org Web: www.npe.org Email: [email protected] Web: www.plasticrecyclingconference.com March 2022 May 27-28 Plastimagen México A Circular Future with Plastics September 14-16 Location: Centro Citibanamex, Mexico City, Mexico Location: Renaissance Hotel Brussels, Brussels, Belgium U Tech Europe Organiser: Tarsus Organiser: EuPC, Agoria and Essenscia – PolyMatters Location: MECC, Maastricht, Netherlands Web: www.plastimagen.com.mx Email: [email protected] Organiser: Crain Global Polymer Group Web: www.plasticsconverters.eu Email: [email protected] Web: www.utecheurope.eu June 7-12 Technology Days 2021 September 28-30 Location: Arburg headquarters, Lossburg, Germany Interplas Organiser: Arburg Location: Birmingham, UK Web: www.arburg.com Organiser: Interplas Events Ltd. Tel: +44 7711 182199 Web: www.interplasuk.com

NPE2018 Photo: Michael A. Marcotte January/February 2021 35

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