SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Shaffer adds that the new version of Graco’s electric pumps work seamlessly with facility control systems that can monitor the pump’s usage around the clock, which facilitates predictive maintenance, saving time and labor.

Lubriplate debuted several new products at PACK EXPO International, including re llable bulk loading grease guns and grease transfer pumps for 35-lb grease pails and 120-lb kegs (25). Lubriplate’s hand pump provides grease gun loading direct from the bulk containers, and the kegs have an option to use an automatic pump for tasks that require more volume.

Also new from Lubriplate at the show was their Lubriplate Synthetic Food Grade Drilling & Tapping Fluid, which is a full synthetic uid designed speci cally for drilling and tapping. This product is NSF H1 registered, making it ideal for food processors, food package manufacturers, and the pharmaceutical industry.

One more debut from Lubriplae is its SYN-FG SDO food grade synthetic sugar dissolving oil, ideal for beverage manufacturers or those working with sugars and syrups. SYN-FG SDO is NSF H1 registered and is speci cally designed to remove sugar deposits and to lubricate machine components exposed to sugar contamination, thus reducing and preventing future sugar buildup. All of Lubriplate’s spray cans now feature the company’s patented Secure Straw dual-spray nozzle with a permanently attached straw.

Unibloc rolled out its multi-size line of QuickStrip FoodFirst pumps (26), which now range from the QS FF 300 to the QS FF 677, featuring 1.0-in. to 6.0-in. outlet sizes and ow rates from 28 gal/min to 500 gal/ min, depending on the model size. All QS FF pumps feature Unibloc’s patented CIP features with tool-free disassembly.

“The largest version of our FoodFirst pumps was originally made for meat and poultry. But over time we realized there’s more than just those markets that can use this technology, so we expanded across the product line with different sizes, and our customers love it,” says Mark Boyd, VP of sales, Unibloc.

Also new at PACK EXPO International from Unibloc was the company’s Flotronic Air Operated Double Diaphragm OneNut Pump. The stainless steel pump’s unique design allows for disassembly and cleaning in a fraction of the time it takes to do the same with a standard pump—from an hour or more down to just minutes—signi cantly reducing downtime.

“It’s the only air-operated double diaphragm pump in the world where you can use CIP rig,” explains Leighton Jones, director of sales at Unibloc. “We added a reinforced backing plate, and that

supports the diaphragm when you put in the CIP pressure. It’s so unique that most engineers don’t even know it can be done. So one of the big things is to educate engineers so they can spec this double diaphragm pump on a CIP application.” Elsewhere in the world of pump manufacturing, Alfa Laval has been making several advances over the past year or so that work, in particular, to ease maintenance concerns from a number of vantage points. Last year, Alfa Laval introduced its DuraCirc positive displacement pump (27), a departure from the typical circumferential piston pump (CPP), delivering on durability, reliability, ef ciency, and hygienic performance. Rather than compromise on trade-offs, manufacturers across the dairy, food, beverage, confectionery, and personal care industries can get it all. “We spent years guring out how to get into the U.S. market. We were looking at all our customers’ sore points,” says Russell Jones, commercial manager for pumps at Alfa Laval. “This tackles about ve common problems.” One improvement is the elimination of con25 tact between the pump’s rotor and casing. Traditional CPPs have constant contact between the product line with different sizes, and our customers love it,” says Mark rotor and plate, Jones notes. Alfa Laval guarantees no contact until at least

Also new at PACK EXPO International 360 psi, he adds, helping to increase from Unibloc was the company’s Flotron- durability and pump life while also reducing the chance of media contamination. The pump is certi ed to meet 3-A Sanitary Standards, but goes beyond those standards to ensure cleanliness. The fully CIPable design is standard. “After the CIP cycle, it’s not only clean, but there’s no residue,” Jones says. That’s true even with viscous products, which can have challenging particulates, he adds. Also meeting EHEDG guideJones, director of sales at Unibloc. “We lines, the DuraCirc pump assures process added a reinforced backing plate, and that integrity and product quality. For a crevice-free

rotor and plate, Jones notes. Alfa Laval ucts, which can have challenging particulates, he adds. Also meeting EHEDG guidelines, the DuraCirc pump assures process integrity and product quality. For a crevice-free

26

design with no dead zones, all product-wetted elastomers are made of FDA-conforming materials and pro led and de ned compression as standard; this reduces contamination risks and cuts both cleaning time and costs. The all-stainless steel construction is also suitable for hygienic washdown.

Maintenance is also reduced through an FDA-conforming oil lubricant that has an extended service interval—about 3,000 hours vs. 750 hours for a typical competitor. Front-loading self-setting mechanical seals are easy to get to, making them quick and easy to change without the need to remove the pump from the system.

“We don’t like to make incremental improvements,” Jones says. “We like to make leaps.”

More recently, Alfa Laval has introduced a subscription-based digital monitoring system for pumps and other rotating equipment such as agitators and mixers in hygienic processing industries. CM Connect enables operators to access data from a remote location. It provides operators the information they need to make informed maintenance decisions— such as actual runtime, trend analysis, and time to the next service. Advanced vibration analysis enables early detection of any deviation from pre-set equipment threshold values. Acting as a gateway communicating via Bluetooth, CM Connect can link up to 10 Alfa Laval CM wireless vibration monitors and transmit the data to the cloud over a 4G cellular network for review and analysis on a dashboard. “People in our industry don’t know what condition monitoring is. In oil and gas, they’re all over it,” Jones comments. “But it’s always too complicated and too expensive for our industry.” Alfa Laval aimed to change that equation with CM Connect, making it simple for operators to use. “If they see a red light, they just quiz it with their phone,” Jones explains, also noting a low price point. PW

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SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

Many times at a PACK EXPO booth it’s the display case that best re ects recent innovations an exhibitor has successfully brought to the marketplace. This was certainly the case at Berry Global. Two we’ve already reported on, a lightweight Mars candy container using PCR (pwgo.to/7822), and a 100% rPET food color bottle by McCormick (pwgo.to/7823).

But three other notable items not familiar to our editorial team were also on display: • Tchibo coffee capsules—A partnership among Berry Global, its customer Tchibo, and its feedstock supplier Neste has resulted in a potentially game-changing development in the coffee capsule market with the introduction of a thermoformed PP capsule made partly from renewable sources (1). Rather than virgin PP that is made from nonrenewable fossil fuel sources, the polymers used for the Tchibo capsules are sourced from renewable raw materials such as residue cooking oils and fats. A life cycle assessment by the Technical University of Berlin, carried out in compliance with ISO 14040/44, has shown that the conversion of the Qbo capsule material results in around 35% fewer CO2 emissions compared to materials more commonly used today.

“We are pleased to offer Qbo capsules made of PP, now produced from 70% renewable raw materials,” says Marius-Konstantin Wiche, development manager, capsule and innovation at Hamburg, Germany-based Tchibo. “This makes the entire Qbo range—containing sustainably grown Qbo coffee brewed in Qbo machines— one of the most sustainable capsule systems on the market.”

The renewable materials are supplied via an approach certi ed by the International Sustainability & Carbon (ISCC PLUS) system. This certi cation makes it possible to articulate on the packaging the proportion of renewable raw materials used to make the package. So the certi cation provides full traceability throughout the supply chain, from raw materials to nished coffee capsule, as well as sustainability validation of the raw materials. Just as important, the new capsules provide an identical performance and consumer experience. Plus the renewable feedstock can be easily introduced into existing production lines with no changes required.

“We needed to ensure that the high quality and great taste of the Qbo coffee would not be affected,” says Wiche. “That’s why we focused on replacing the raw materials for the capsules, not the PP itself. The renewable materials go into producing PP polymers with the same quality as virgin PP; you won’t see or taste any difference.”

Berry says it combined its sustainability leadership in the selection of the right quali ed raw materials with its technical skills for the ef cient manufacture of the capsules to accelerate the conversion to this more sustainable, circular solution. The company’s expertise in design for circularity allows for multiple potential solutions to be developed for the future manufacture of coffee capsules, thanks to its ISCC PLUS certi ed site in Bremervörde, Germany. The ISCC PLUS certi cation not only ensured that food contact approval was granted for the new materials, it also allows for the quick transition to additional applications over time.

“We chose Berry for this project as they have experience with our product and hold the required ISCC PLUS certi cation to produce the capsules from renewable materials,” says Wiche. “The company’s knowledge of extrusion and thermoforming for our capsules is excellent, and we also appreciate their in-house engineering and machining of related parts for our products.”

For Berry, the introduction of the new capsules supports its recently announced commitment to achieve 30% circular plastics use across its fast-moving consumer goods packaging by 2030 as the company envisions decoupling from virgin plastic and fossil fuels in the long term. “Supporting our customers’ growing sustainability commitments is a key priority as we plan for the future needs of a net-zero, circular economy,” says Jean-Marc Galvez, President of Berry’s Consumer Packaging International Division. “Delivering the infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities to design products for circularity is one of our core competencies. I am incredibly proud of this partnership and its commitment to demonstrate the potential of renewable raw materials to lower the environmental impact of capsules.” “Together,” says Wiche, “our Tchibo/Neste/Berry team has created a 1 fantastic result. The Qbo coffee still maintains its premium quality, but now in a capsule produced with less CO2 emissions.” • Tesco/Heinz/Berry project—Berry Global is collaborating in a rst-of-its kind project launched by Heinz and Tesco in the UK to permit the chemical recycling of exible lm packaging dropped off by customers at Tesco’s in-store collection points. Also on the team are recycling technology experts Plastic Energy and SABIC, and together the team has launched a pioneering trial with the development of new Heinz Beanz Snap Pots (2) that incorporate 39% ISCC PLUS-certi ed recycled exible lm.

According to Berry, the exible lms collected in Tesco’s stores are taken to Plastic Energy and physically segregated for conversion by pyrolysis—the thermal decomposition of materials at elevated temperatures in the absence of oxygen—into an optimal oil feedstock. This feedstock, which Plastic Energy calls TACOIL, is combined with virgin material by SABIC to produce an alternative feedstock for making food-contact-approved plastic pellets. These pellets are sent to an ISCCcerti ed Berry Global site and combined in a coextrusion of PP/EVOH/

2

White Masterbatch/PP-based adhesive. Then comes thermoforming, also by Berry. After Heinz lls and lids the pots, they undergo thermal treatment at 121ºC for about 30 minutes to render them shelf stable at ambient temperatures.

“This is a prime example of an innovative advancement in circular packaging design made possible by collaboration across the entire value chain,” says Berry’s Galvez. “This approach helps capture and reuse plastics that currently go unrecycled, to keep materials in use and out of our oceans and land lls.”

The 50/50 joint venture between London-based Plastic Energy and Saudi-based SABIC is fascinating to say the least. It’s called SPEAR (SABIC Plastic Energy Advanced Recycling BV), and it’s being executed with a Top Sector Energy Subsidy from the Ministry of Economic Affairs in the Netherlands. That country, speci cally the town of Geleen, is also the site of the new production facility. SABIC and Plastic Energy have worked together with leading customers and converters to produce and commercialize certi ed circular polymers since early 2019. But with the Geleen facility in commercial operation, SABIC can signi cantly upscale the production of certi ed circular polymers to provide customers with greater access to sustainable materials that have been recycled, repurposed, and produced in a way that can provide a drop-in solution that helps protect the planet’s natural resources.

“Advancements in this pioneering project take us one step closer to driving the change needed to become a circular global industry,” says Fahad Al Swailem, vice president, PE & sales at SABIC. “We have overcome signi cant external, global challenges to reach this important milestone and remain fully committed to closing the loop on used plastic. We are continuing to collaborate on an unprecedented level with our partners upstream and downstream to achieve this.”

“It has been an exciting journey in making our vision of building advanced recycling plants come to life,” says Carlos Monreal, Founder and CEO of Plastic Energy. “We have worked jointly with SABIC towards our common goal of making plastics more sustainable and moving towards a more circular economy for plastics.”

The 39% recycled plastic that the new snap pots contain was validated using an approach endorsed by ISCC. This makes it possible to track the amount and sustainability characteristics of materials used in the manufacturing process. The recycled material meets the requirements of food-contact safety regulations and provides a replacement for virgin polypropylene in the thin-wall pack with no compromise on processability or mechanical performance.

“We want our Snap Pots to be more sustainable while retaining the features that make them so popular with consumers: their convenience, handy snappable format, microwavability, and ensuring the product remains fresh,” says Héloïse Carlier, senior packaging development technologist at Heinz. “With this project and our introduction of the new Heinz Beanz Snap Pots, 22 tons of [ exible lm] will be recycled.”

To date exible lm packaging has been notoriously dif cult to recycle. Until 2020, just 6% of the material was being recycled in the UK. It is hoped this venture will inspire the wider industry to take action in tackling this issue, both in the UK and other countries across Europe.

“We’re proud to have teamed up with leading experts to bring this important innovation to our customers,” says Jojo de Noronha, Heinz’s president Northern Europe. “Our hope is that this prompts an industrywide look at what more can be done to address the lack of [ exible lm] being recycled in the UK, and we can, as a collective, get better when it comes to developing new packaging solutions that are good for both our consumers and for our planet.” • Technology Award Winner—Also newsworthy is that Berry Global’s Proxima tethered closure (3) with tamper-evident band was named a winner of a PACK EXPO Technology Excellence Award in Sustainability from PMMI.

The Proxima tethered closure enhances opportunities for reducing litter and increasing recyclability of the closure, while still offering consumers a convenient and comfortable drinking experience for cold ll and aseptic applications, including still water and functional drinks. The design of the injection-molded polypropylene closure features a special tamper-evident band that, once broken, does not affect the closure’s ability to remain attached. When opened for drinking or pouring, the closure is positioned at a wide angle, adjacent to the neck of the bottle, thus ensuring the bottle can be easily reclosed for consumer convenience.

This solution provides two important sustainability bene ts. Because the closure is designed to remain intact with the bottle, it is less likely to be thrown away or littered. This can greatly reduce the possibility of the closure leaking into the environment. Equally important, keeping the closure on the bottle decreases the danger of littering and unnecessary plastic waste when closures are carelessly or thoughtlessly discarded.

Proxima is available in 29-mm and 38-mm diameters to t various

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neck nishes. In addition to its user-friendly features, the closure can be speci ed in a variety of colors to help individualize product branding and maximize on-shelf appeal. Proxima meets current legislation on single-use plastics including the EU Directive 2019/204, which requires plastic beverage bottles up to 3 L in size to have closures that remain attached to the container throughout its intended use from 2024 onwards.

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PAPERBASED CAN CARRIERS

ClipCombo was big news at the PACK EXPO International booth of Graphic Packaging International. An innovation that combines multiple packaging solutions over a modular machinery system, it was selected as one of four PACK EXPO International Technology Excellence Awards by PMMI.

This new machinery approach to beverage packaging comes in two avors, one for cans and one for PET bottles. ClipCombo for cans runs EnviroClip™, which is essentially a at piece of paperboard that ef ciently holds cans together. But the same machine can also run KeelClip™, (4) which is positioned as more of a premium option because it folds over the top and has more room for graphics—not to mention the fact that cans can be oriented to maximize branding opportunities. A third option that can also be run on this machine is GripClip, which is similar to KeelClip except that it doesn’t include the center keel, 4 which means it brings savings in paperboard cost.

ClipCombo for PET bottles runs EnviroClip or Cap-It (5). Designed for PET bottles with neck rings, Cap-It provides an on-the-shelf differentiation from other multipacks by combining both a beautifully printable paperboard billboard while still allowing a portion of the bottles to be visible. Like other options in GPI’s clip portfolio, Cap-It is designed to maintain its pack integrity through the supply chain while also providing a comfortable consumer experience.

Boasting high speeds of up to 400 packs per minute (depending on application) and rapid changeovers as part of an impressive list of bene ts, ClipCombo enables customers to differentiate between brands and position premium or standard options—all on one machine. Worth noting is that GPI also supplies the paperboard material for its various paperboard carrier offerings.

“We know many of our customers take their sustainability goals seriously, as do we,” says Doug Hicks, vice president of the packaging machinery division at Graphic Packaging. “We also know that markets change and there is a need to future-proof machine system choices. That’s why we’re delighted to reveal the ClipCombo concept, a game-changing machinery philosophy that enables customers to select from a wide range of existing and new packaging options as well as container and con guration choices. Packers can combine products over a single machinery system, and be con dent they have the options needed as the market evolves.”

GPI is by no means the only company on the supply side of the packaging arena working diligently on paper-based substitutes for plastic ring carriers, and PACK EXPO Interna- 5

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tional was a great place to catch up on at least three others: • Krones offers equipment for the standard LitePac Top, a at piece of paperboard that holds cans together. But it also has equipment for LitePac Top Promo Skirt (6) should customers want more room for graphics and branding. Also part of the portfolio is equipment for LitePac Top for bottles where a paperboard strap or “banderole” provides additional holding properties (7). Krones in its approach to these novel packaging concepts stays focused on mechanical machine engineering and partners with a number of paperboard packaging material suppliers. • KHS offers a variety of paperboard can “toppers” that can be applied by its Innopack Kisters CNP (Carton Nature Packer) systems, including both a GreenClip option, which is a standard at piece of paperboard that holds cans together, as well as the more premium-level TopClip (8) for more graphics and branding opportunities. Even more recently, KHS has introduced a paper wrapping concept that replaces plastic shrink lm with paper (9). Like Krones, KHS focuses on the machinery side of the equation and partners with packaging machinery suppliers. • Westrock’s CanCollar family of sustainable beverage packaging solutions (10) comprises six options. Like GPI, Westrock takes the “razor and the razor blade” approach in going to market, as users of CanCollar technology purchase the paperboard from Westrock. In the center is CanCollar Classic. Left to right are CanCollar Shield, CanCollar Shield Plus, CanCollar EcoPlus, PremCollar, and CanCollar X. Most impressively, the CanCollar Fortuna machine featured at Westrock’s PACK EXPO booth is capable of producing ve of the six members of the CanCollar family. This capability is due in large part to the machine’s use of the ACOPOStrak linear drive system from B&R

a video of Westrock’s CanCollar Fortuna

at pwgo.to/7824.

10

WHAT ABOUT FOODSERVICE PACKAGING?

ProAmpac used PACK EXPO International to launch in the U.S. its Fresh Food To-Go line of sustainable, ber-based packaging (11) designed speci cally for the on-the-go convenience retailer. ProAmpac says it specializes in the design and manufacture of fresh sandwich packs, trays, wraps, and soft packs for hot and cold food applications in deli, quick service restaurant (QSR), convenience store, and supermarket in-store markets, among others. According to the company, these products use two distinct routes toward sustainability in that they reduce avoidable packaging and offer extended shelf-life formats to reduce food waste. 11 “ProAmpac’s fresh food to-go

packaging has been used in the UK and Europe fresh food market for decades. We are pleased to bring these products to North America. Our HandRap has just hit store shelves for the rst time in the USA and we are getting great feedback from the stores on ease of use,” says Irma Randles, marketing director for ProAmpac.

The company says the format keeps food fresh and offers an elevated appearance in either a hot cabinet or chiller. Also, by weight, the largest component of ProAmpac’s fresh food to-go packaging is paperboard and paper, a renewable resource from certi ed, well-managed forests. In many formats, the paperboard can be recycled after being easily separated from the lm by the consumer.

Having received the above information in advance, PW editors were primed to check out the foodservice packaging spread at the show, and Sal Pellingra, VP global package design, applications & business development at ProAmpac, didn’t disappoint. “I think one of the biggest game-changers in North America is really this movement toward sustainability,” says Pelllingra. “Sustainability can mean a lot of things. It can be the trend toward mono-materials that can be recycled, and also the use of PCR. But another really big one is a huge change in moving from rigid plastic and thermoformed plastic structures, like plastic trays or clamshells, to paper-based or ber-based structures.” Different models of use for QSRs, deli, and convenience can use these packs for day-fresh products, for medium fresh with some shelf life, “or they can be modi ed atmosphere packaging (MAP), and depending on what’s inside, can stay fresh for anywhere from seven to 28 days,” Pellingra adds. “The oxygen barrier on some of these products gets down to 1%.” At PACK EXPO, Pellingra speci cally demonstrated a product in the line aptly called a sandwich wedge. He describes further, “These are two materials, a combination of ber and lm. There’s a dual label on these, where you remove the [unrecyclable] plastic lm, but the paperboard is recyclable. On current [thermoformed] clamshells, there’s no printability, so you can only put a label on them. On [the Fresh Food To-Go sandwich slice pack], you can put artwork all the way around. And you’re reducing the amount of virgin packaging materials, which is key. They’re customizable, use modi ed atmosphere, they reduce the amount of packaging materials, and they reduce the amount of virgin plastic resins.” Pellingra says that the sandwich wedge pack formats are all over shelves in the UK already, for instance at upscale convenience retailer/QSR Pret a Manger. While ProAmpac supplies the packaging materials, the company has partnered with JBT Proseal, a tray sealing machine manufacturer, to offer North America’s rst in-line sandwich packaging testing lab at ProAmpac’s Collaboration & Innovation Center (CIC). Designed to form and seal fresh sandwich packaging, Proseal’s GTSV machine will be used to optimize packaging design while allowing customers to run trials on new packaging formats without disrupting commercial production operations. “The recyclable ber board sandwich packaging format is in early-stage adoption in North America. Having a facility to showcase the packaging functionality on a commercial-scale sealing line allows our

customers to experience this new technology,” says Randles. “The ber format has been an industry mainstay in the UK for years and continues to grow. However, Proseal’s GTSV is the rst in-line sandwich high-speed sealing machine in North America.” a related video at pwgo.to/7825. NEW SHRINK FILM

Debuted at PACK EXPO International, the recyclable Clysar Ultra LEG shrink lm is an advanced new polyethylene (PE)-based polyole n shrink lm that is prequali ed for Store Drop-Off by How2Recycle. We’ll begin with a list of features this new lm exhibits to set the stage, then dive into a new, in-market product that Clysar President Vicki Larson talked about in the booth.

Ultra LEG shrink lm is a gentle, or “low-energy” polyole n that can improve shelf appeal by being gentle to the products around which it shrinks. In fact, the lm exerts approximately 40% less force on products during shrinking than competitive low-energy lm, according to the company. This makes it ideal for delicate or collapsible products, allowing them to retain their natural shape without the shrink force bending or otherwise distorting the products. Its high

availability shrink makes for crisp, tight shrink packages, and its balanced, all-around shrink eliminates dog-ears and other aws. With all these factors considered, it results in good shelf impact where it’s applied. The company says that Ultra LEG is easy to use and creates consistent, attractive packages without major ne-tuning, rejects, or waste. The lm also can be processed at lower temperatures, making it a good choice for heat-sensitive products. Low seal and shrink tunnel temperatures reduce energy use in packaging operations. Tunnel temperature for clean shrink typically starts 25°F cooler than traditional polyole n shrink lms, and sealing for hot knives starts at approximately 300°F. Energy reduction is good for both sustainability measures, and for the bottom line given energy input costs. The thin-gauge lm also provides material reduction or 12 lightweighting opportunities, again good for a brand’s sustainability pro le. With these stated qualities, Clysar’s Ultra LEG lm is an ideal t for many markets. But center of the bullseye and demonstrated at PACK EXPO International was an application for furnace lter packages (12). Furnace lters are so delicate that most non-PVC lms would end up bending the lter pack while shrinking in the heat tunnel. But as fur22_004406_Packaging_World_JAN Mod: November 28, 2022 9:35 AM Print: 12/08/22 page 1 v2.5

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nace lter producers seek to eliminate PVC from their lineup for health and sustainability reasons, they still need to maintain a thin, light lm that requires only low heat to shrink. The Clysar Ultra LEG lm stands out for this application, as well as calendars, school paper, and other product ranges with similar qualities.

“Traditionally, furnace lters have tended to use PVC,” says Larson. “And the reason why they’re in PVC is because PVC uses a single bubble. It’s more of a cast technology. So they can control how much the lm shrinks in the machine direction and in the transverse direction. That’s why PVC has been so prominent in the furnace lter industry, because nobody wants this to bend on the shelf.

“But our Clysar technology uses a double bubble. We blow a tube, and then we blow a big bubble. You get equal shrink in both the machine direction and the transverse direction,” she continues. “We’ve been able to develop a lm through process and formulation (chemistry rules and technology rocks, right?) that allows us to do this in a true polyole n. Any other polyole n would bend this [package, a furnace lter in a primary paperboard carton]. Ours doesn’t.”

Clysar’s Ultra LEG Film is very thin, lightweight, 40-gauge material. In the PACK EXPO International furnace lter demonstration, the lm makes up only 0.5% of the total package.

“From a lm standpoint, we’ve also been able to make it in a way that is approved for store drop-off [recycling]. So we have three approval items already for this product, launching it so that they’re commercially in stores today [Oct. 23, 2022].”

Beyond furnace or air lter type of products as described above, good applications for the Ultra LEG Film include protective apparel, like face masks; stationary, stickers, and thin paper products; open-sided chipboard cartons; magazines, calendars, and other low-pro le items;

craft, hobby, and collectible products; bundled printed materials; and candy and confectionery products. The recently improved EVO-C (Con dential) shrink lm (13), displayed at the Clysar booth at PACK EXPO International, is a recyclable, ultra-durable, opaque lm now available with Post Consumer Content (PCR). The company says it is ideal for secondary shipping and stabilization, UV protection, product masking, and containment. EVO-C lm is part of a larger Clysar EVO family of shrink lms that is safe for the recycling stream, having undergone signi cant testing to ensure that it meets the rigorous new protocols and revised requirements of the How2Recycle program. These lms are one of the few current polyole n shrink lm structures that qualify for the of cial How2Recycle Store Drop-Off label, the company says. The opacity of the lm provides privacy for consumers ordering sensitive materials through the e-comm channel. It also adds a layer of protection against porch piracy since potential thieves can’t see what the shrinkwrapped pack contains to assess its value. 13 The EVO-C product has been around for three years, so PW asked Vicki Larson, Clysar president, what’s new about it? Why display it here and now? “Clysar has improved the environmental appeal of our EVO-C lm on several fronts. We have been able get the same ‘hide,’ or the same opacity level with some downgauging—formulation is so important. What we’re launching today at PACK EXPO is that EVO-C has PCR (postconsumer recycled content),” she says. “Now, we can answer the P&Gs of the world who say we need to be using recycled content material. “Clysar addresses the e-commerce market from all sides—whether you just want the privacy feature, so the shrink-wrapped product goes into an Amazon overbox, or whether your product goes through the mail without the overboxing, so our shrink lm serves as the second-

Odorless Concentrate Using Recycled PP

Milliken & Company and PureCycle Technologies, Inc. have created a new concentrate for polypropylene (PP) designed to allow for greater use of 100% recycled content. Additionally, the companies report that when used in combination with PureCycle’s recycled PP (rPP), it produces a formulation with a carbon footprint that is approximately 35% lower than that of virgin PP.

A common concern among those looking to incorporate recycled content is whether the material’s color and formulation will compare to virgin material and the aesthetic that consumers are used to. Because PureCycle’s technology separates color, odor, and other contaminants from PP waste feedstock to transform it into ultra-pure, virgin-like resin, the new concentrate offers promise in making rPP an attractive option for PP converters seeking quality and crystal-clear clarity.

The new concentrate has been formulated using Milliken’s Millad NX 8000 ECO clarifier, which as Milliken’s Brian Burton explained at the show, has been on the market for some time. Also of note is that the certified energy savings by using resin produced with this clarifier allows brand owners to display the UL Environmental Claim Validation label on their injectionmolded parts.

As Burton noted, while some recycled content is downcycled into products such as flower pots and park benches, this is FDA-approved material that can be incorporated right back into food packaging, “so it really opens up the applications you can use it for.” PW

ary package.” (According to Clysar LCA data, packaging volume can be reduced by as much as 80% using EVO-C shipping lm to replace the overbox.)

Speaking of P&G, displayed at the Clysar booth was P&G’s now-famous Tide box, a SIOC (ships in own container) format that eliminates the need for overboxing, and instead uses EVO-C shrink lm. By removing the need for overboxing and using shrink instead, it reduces weight, size, and the amount of material used, all sustainable qualities that brands like Tide are looking for.

And now, brand-owners can also say their packaging lms are using PCR, as well, building toward a more circular plastic economy.

“Right now, everyone wants to use recycled content, but it’s not vastly available, especially not in the highly transparent qualities that brands need to display their products,” Larson adds. “But because this is an opaque shrink lm, I can get a white [as opposed to the usually preferred clear] lm into the formulation for both opacity and use of PCR.”

A PORTFOLIO OF SUSTAINABLE CHOICES

Recycle-ready with no compromise on performance was a prominent theme at the Amcor booth, as Amcor Flexibles introduced a range of AmPrima PE PLUS applications (14). A portfolio of more sustainable

choices, AmPrima employs a variety of technologies that deliver the stiffness, clarity, graphics, and machineability that match the performance of current nonrecyclable alternatives. Especially impressive were these: • Beverage, puree, and sauce pouches—These pouches require moisture and oxygen barriers to preserve the contents inside, as well as highly durable hermetic seals along pack edges and around opening spout tments. Previously, only mixed-material lm structures have delivered such performance characteristics, structures that are dif cult to recycle. But now Amcor offers an innovative and recycle-ready highbarrier exible lm providing superior heat-resistance, a custom-engineered sealed layer for improved hermeticity and leak prevention, and puncture and scuff-resistance for durability throughout distribution. Amcor describes it as the rst high-barrier, high-speed, heat-resistant, recycle-ready solution for beverage, puree, and sauce spouted pouches. • Shredded cheese pouches—Capable of running at high speed and offering all the heat-resistant properties needed, AmPrima PE Plus lm for shredded cheese offers high barrier and is compatible with recycleready zipper solutions. Its environmental bene ts have been calculated by ASSET, Amcor’s unique Carbon Trust-certi ed Life Cycle Assessment service, and the results are impressive. Compared to a current market offering such as 48-ga OPET/PE/EVOH-PE/mLLDPE, AmPrima Plus lm, when recycled, delivers a 75% reduction in non-renewable energy use, a 58% reduction in carbon footprint, and a 54% reduction in water consumption. • Flow wrap applications for wet wipes—Typically, wet wipe packages use OPET or OPP layers, rendering them unrecyclable. This presents a problem for brand owners. Amcor has developed a new, more sustainable exible lm for wet wipes that provides all the heat resistance, clarity, and stiffness compared to standard laminations currently in use.

Also on the innovation front, Amcor Rigid Packaging introduced its DairySeal line of packaging (15) that features ClearCor, an advancement in oxygen barrier technology for PET bottles. The new barrier technology, says the company, has “higher levels of concentration encapsulation in the center of the preform, allowing less barrier to be used while being more effective.” This allows for more PCR in use, longer empty bottle shelf life, and improved design options (compared to other packaging formats) for the uid dairy segment. The technology has a positive impact on the overall performance of the barrier and maintains recyclablilty. “PET is the most recycled plastic in the world, with more than 1.8 billion pounds of used PET bottles and containers recovered in the U.S. each year alone,” notes Greg Rosati, Amcor Rigid Packaging vice president of marketing & strategy for specialty containers. “With the development of our DairySeal line, we are able to offer PET packaging that helps improve sustainability for brands in the dairy alternatives, nutritional drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee space.”

The DairySeal line in PET is available in 8-, 11-, 12-, and 14-oz stock options, with additional sizes and shapes planned for the future.

Also new from Amcor Rigid Packaging is PowerPost. By actively displacing the vacuum in a hot- lled PET container after lling, this technology delivers a bottle that allows for up to 100% recycled material use, is nearly one-third lighter, and offers 30% energy reduction and 30% carbon savings over most 20-oz bottles available today, says Amcor. PowerPost builds on Amcor’s patented vacuum-absorbing PowerStrap technology, a exible ring surrounding the PowerPost. After hot- lling, the post is inverted to actively displace vacuum inside the container,

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and as the product cools down, the surrounding ring exes to passively absorb any remaining vacuum pressure.

“Our engineers have developed technology that pushes the boundaries of lightweighting in the hot- ll arena to help our customers meet their cost and sustainability needs,” says Terry Patcheak, vice president of R&D, sustainability, and project management at Amcor Rigid Packaging. “This next-generation innovation will improve the consumer experience while addressing widespread commitments to reduce material use and lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

HOME, PERSONAL CARE, AND PET MARKETS

Rolling out at PACK EXPO International this year was TC Transcontinental’s vieVERTe recycle-ready PCR exible packaging material, which comes in two variations: one with 38% PCR, and the other with 50% PCR. Rebecca Casey, senior VP of marketing & strategy at TC Transcontinental, says vieVERTe is aimed at the home and personal care market, but is also ideal for the evolving pet food market (16).

“Pretty much the whole premium pet food side of the business revolves around having recyclable packaging,” says Casey. “That’s driven by consumers. And when we look at back at 2018, when China decided they didn’t want to take our plastic waste anymore, it became more evident to consumers that, as a country, we weren’t really recycling our materials. And I think they’ve become more educated. When we talk about only 9% of plastic is recycled in the U.S., consumers know they put more than 9% of plastic in their recycle bins. So they’re putting a bit more pressure on the consumer product companies, and a lot of consumer product companies are saying we need to do the right thing for our planet. So it’s kind of a push forward in all directions.”

Casey adds that according to a recent Mintel study, 49% of new consumer products—like premium pet food, for example—include some claim of environmentally friendly packaging, so TC Transcontinental’s vieVERTe exible packaging material ts right into this trend.

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SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH COLLABORATION

Debuting at PACK EXPO was a rst-of-its kind exible pouch from Printpack, the Preserve PE Advanced Recycled Content Polyethylene Pouch (17), that is not only recyclable after use, but also contains 30% post-consumer recycled material obtained through advanced recycling technologies. The pouch is the result of a partnership between Printpack, Pregis, and ExxonMobil, where Printpack’s machine directionoriented PE print lm is used in combination with Pregis Performance Flexibles Renew™ Series sealant lm made with ExxonMobil Exxtend™ advanced recycling resin technology.

Preserve PE Advanced Recycled Content is the latest addition to Printpack’s Preserve sustainable packaging platform. “This encompasses a portfolio of eco-friendly structures that use renewable and postconsumer recycled content, as well as maximizing design opportunities for greenhouse gas and source reduction and an optimal end-of-life condition,” explains Bill Barlow, sustainable innovations manager for Printpack. “The Preserve Recyclable PE packaging solutions offer many of the bene ts of current exible packaging, including ease of transport, product-to-package weight ratio, and reduction of carbon footprint, as well as several barrier options.”

The Preserve Recyclable PE line meets brand owners’ growing desire for mono-material exible packaging that can be recycled via store drop-off. As Barlow shares, this past year, Printpack was part of the largest store drop-off recyclable PE launch for the snack bar market in collaboration with General Mills and the Nature Valley brand.

While there are quite a few options available today for exible lms that can be recycled through store drop-off, more of a challenge has been to provide brands with lm that contains recycled content—especially for food applications—given the limitations of mechanical recycling and FDA guidelines for food contact.

“We actually have been successful with mechanically recycled PCR

content within a nished package up to about 30% recycled content, however, there are limitations due to the grades available in the market—with FDA no objection letters—and also due to performance issues with the addition of high levels of mechanically recycled content,” says Barlow. “Additionally, there are still some aesthetic issues with mechanical PCR such as gels, degraded material, bers, and other contaminants; these are dif cult to mask in a exible package.”

Using resins made from an advanced recycling process completely eliminates these issues, as the resins from the process are identical to those made with virgin plastics. In addition, Barlow notes that with advanced recycling technology, the potential to create a exible lm pack with greater than 90% PCR has become a reality.

ExxonMobil’s Exxtend advanced recycling technology breaks down plastic waste to its molecular building blocks while removing contaminants. These are the molecular building blocks that form the raw materials for making its products, which are identical to those made from virgin fossil feedstocks.

According to Barlow, ExxonMobil approached Printpack in August 2022 regarding the project, which the company welcomed without hesitation. “We view both Pregis and ExxonMobil as strategic partners of polyethylene resin and lm in the exible packaging market, and we were looking for an opportunity to collaborate with companies like this that share a similar sustainability vision to ours.

“We cannot meet the demands for sustainability alone, and this was a perfect opportunity to collaborate and bring something to the market that folks have been talking about for some time. We turned this project around in less than 30 days. That takes a true team effort.”

Exxtend circular polymers are certi ed according to the ISCC PLUS (the International Sustainability and Carbon Certi cation Plus) program. The resin can be offered in an array of PE grades, which Barlow says is attractive for Printpack and Pregis, as it allows them to develop exible packaging lms to meet the same performance requirements as conventional packaging structures. “Ultimately, with this technology, we don’t have to compromise on performance, that’s why it’s attractive,” he says.

Pregis’ sealant lm contains 45% advanced recycled content. When laminated to Printpack’s PE lm, the overall pouch structure contains 30% recycled content. The resulting structure also is prequali ed for the How2Recycle store drop-off label and meets the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Design Guidelines for Flexible Packaging. Says Barlow, “As far as I know, this is the rst recyclable polyethylene pouch in the market that employs the advanced recycling technology and certi ed circular resins.”

As with most advanced recycling technologies currently on the market, product is limited, as these companies work to scale up production. Barlow says Printpack hopes to have a major brand on-board soon to commercialize the new lm and help build volume. “There is material available for Printpack and Pregis from ExxonMobil, and we expect to scale it up all the way into the rst quarter of next year and beyond,” he says. “Ultimately, we have to get a brand that’s going to pull this through and really get some volume commitments. Knowing that there’s demand for this and that our brands and consumers need it and want it really helps with future investments and capital expenditures.” Getting Started with Sustainable Packaging

Looking for information on how to get started with sustainable packaging? This Packaging World primer provides an overview on what sustainable packaging is, what’s driving the push for more sustainable packaging, and how to reduce the push for more sustainable packaging, and how to reduce the environmental impact of packaging. It also includes links to resources. Download this free PDF today at pwgo.to/7345. 70% PCR POLYETHYLENE RESINS

As manufacturers across sectors look to incorporate post-consumer recycled content (PCR) into their packaging and reduce CO2 emissions and energy footprints, Dow showcased its REVOLOOP recycled plastic polyethylene (PE) resins product portfolio at PACK EXPO International. This marks the rst commercial REVOLOOP launch in North America.

The REVOLOOP resin is designed with 70% PCR, which provides up to 40% recycled content in the nal product, Dow reports, while providing similar quality and performance as materials made with virgin resins. Two commercial grades are available for packaging like shrink wrap and stretch.

REVOLOOP resins are the rst polyethylene (PE) compounds to achieve certi cation in accordance with the Standard UNE-EN 15343 for plastics recycling traceability and recycled content by Spain-based AENOR.

“Our customers have consistently asked us for more recycled plastic feedstock for packaging,” says Alex Saba, senior marketing director, packaging & specialty plastics at Dow. He emphasizes Dow’s ambition—not in merely stopping the waste—but to “Transform the Waste” in support of efforts to limit the amount of plastic waste that ends up in land lls and reduce greenhouse gases.

Saba adds that Dow is positioned to offer supply chain continuity for those looking to incorporate PCR content, with their own compatibilizers, virgin resin supply, and a large footprint of global assets to deliver consistent supply in the formulation needed. With customers looking for resin upgrades without building entirely new lines, Dow is prepared to work with customers and address challenges that companies face as they look to switch to resins that rely less on virgin plastics.

While the company has begun with shrink lms, they are also looking at sustainable materials for rigid and food-contacting applications.

PROTECTING THE OCEANS

Today, only around 10% of plastic waste globally gets recycled, while the rest ends up in land lls, in incinerations, and leakage to nature or the ocean, according to UPM Ra atac. In fact, one of the most visible issues in packaging today is plastic pollution in the ocean. And the 10 largest sources of ocean contamination with plastics exist in Southeast Asia, where massive rivers carry plastic waste to the ocean.

The problem is that the world needs ways to reuse existing, post-