Sustainable Plastics - May/June 2022 - 19

A more sustainable
tube laminate
recycling
the right direction. We sampled
test material to our European
customers from our site in India,
but only the future will show
whether this is something that
can be scaled up or whether
we need to wait for European
sources to open up. "
Collaboration
is essential
" Right now, when it comes to
our waste feedstock streams,
APK is looking into all options, "
said Tugal.
APK has already demonstrated
that its depolymerisation
technology also works for PCR
- post consumer recyclate -
waste and not just with the PIR
the company currently uses.
The company ultimately aims to
provide excellent quality from
post-consumer mixed plastic
waste.
" We are very focused on getting
the right input, and we have
a lot of control over the input at
the moment, " she explained.
" The solvent-based step means
that the technology can handle
contaminants more easily than
standard mechanical recycling,
but the better the input material,
the higher quality the output. "
However,
in a circular economy,
the output ultimately becomes
the input again. This
means that ideally, the tube
laminates produced by Huhtamaki
should be turned into recyclable
tubes by the tube makers
it works with.
" We can produce the best
possible recyclable tube laminate,
but we can't help it if the
tube maker goes on to cover
it with e.g. black
print and does
not follow the
Design for Recycling
criteria defined
by RecyClass
for proper
recycling of
the tube, " said
Settele.
" The way
various depar
t men t s
view the tube
is much different
from
the perfectly
recyclable
tube envisioned
by
a project
manage -
ment and
RecyClass, "
he explained.
" Close cooperation and close
communication are extremely
important; the complete supply
chain - complete stream -
needs to work closely together
in order to align the requirements
formulated by RecyClass
with the requirements coming
from the market. "
Reconciling these very different
needs poses a challenge.
Huhtamaki has therefore become
a member of the RecyClass
technical committee in
order to gain as much information
as possible, said Settele,
and to be able to support its
customers regarding the possibilities
of the tube laminates it
produces.
A major goal for tube makers
KuG_Anz_Ind40_A4_175x28mm_D.qxp_Kug_Ind40 19.07.16 13:35 Seite 1
today is to produce tubes featuring
a monomaterial structure,
'including the cap', he added,
which is usually a flip-top
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19
in cosmetics
packaging. " In
the past, these
were made from
PP, but today,
we're slowly moving
towards caps
made from PE. It's
yet another step in
the right direction.
However, for these developments,
we must
depend on the work of
others as they are not in
the hands of APK, nor in
the hands of Huhtamaki.
But for our customers, it
is essential that they have
the possibility to make their
tubes as mono as possible. "
Moving towards
commercialisation
The collaboration between
Huhtamaki and APK has proved
a beneficial one to both until
now, and the partners see this
relationship continuing into the
future. To that end, APK is working
to achieve commercial volumes
of its PIR-based material.
It is well on its way: last year
saw the scale-up of production
to industrial scale, generating
enough material to produce 1
million tubes. Samples were
sent to customers to create an
awareness of the material. " It's
now up to the market, " said Tugal.
" But I would say from our
end that we are good to go. "
As market demand increases,
already a small quantity of
these recycled-content tube
laminates has been sold. " We
are looking forward to seeing
our tube projects on the
shelves, " said Settele. Once
they are in the supermarket,
others might also be inspired
to opt for these more sustainable
tube laminates as well, he
added. Meanwhile, other sustainable
directions are being
explored as well.
These ambitions are also part
of what drives APK forward. As
Tugal said: " We have shown
that we can produce recyclate
from post-consumer waste and
in the future, we'd like to roll out
this technology in future plants.
After all, Huhtamaki will need
commercial quantities for testing
this material. We are looking
forward to the construction of
a new plant for the production
of PCR - post-consumer recycled
materials. In fact, the engineering
work has already been
completed, so in the coming
years we will have a new site
where post-consumer household
waste will be recycled. "
The location of the site will be
disclosed at a later date.
The work on the development
of PCR is important for
another reason as well. As yet,
there are no mandatory recycled-content
targets for tubes,
although some brand owners
have established their own. Yet,
it is likely only a matter of time
before these targets are implemented.
" We will see the same
regulations here as have been
enacted in the UK, " said Tugal.
" We need to work together, to
be ready for them, with a material
that will not compromise the
design specifications or performance
of the product. "
And to keep eyes open to
all possibilities, agreed Settele.
" We need to be best prepared
for whatever might come up in
the future. "
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Sustainable Plastics - May/June 2022

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