Flexible packaging is among today’s most economical and sustainable packaging for food items, consumer goods, personal care products, and more. Many benefits of flexible packaging are realized in the overall reduction in the weight and materials used to construct the packaging; in some cases, for example, up to 80% less plastic may be used versus rigid packaging. This leads to reduced costs, waste, and carbon emissions from manufacturing the packaging and transporting the packaging contents.
A Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging
Though flexible packaging is among the most economical and sustainable types of packaging used today, there is still a vast opportunity to improve the sustainability of its manufacturing process. A greater focus has been on developing a circular economy for flexible packaging by creating mono-material constructions that enable better recyclability.
Recyclable Laminating Adhesives
In constructing recyclable mono-material packaging, the other components used to create flexible packaging, such as the laminating adhesives that bind the different plastic film layers together, must also be recyclable. To this end, ChemPoint offers several laminating adhesive options that have received APR Design® Critical Guidance recognition, a globally recognized standard that evaluates recyclability in plastic packaging, from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR).
APR-Recognized Laminating Adhesives for Flexible Packaging
What Is the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR)?
APR is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to improving plastic recycling. Based in North America, they offer tools and resources that help companies design packaging for recycling, innovate solutions to challenges in recycling, and create markets for postconsumer recycled materials. The APR Design® Guide is an internationally recognized authority on plastic packaging that provides guidance and testing protocols that measure designs against industry-accepted criteria for recyclability.
What Is FPE-CG-01?
FPE-CG-01 is a protocol of the APR Design® Guide that assesses the compatibility of polyethylene (PE) films and flexible packaging components with postconsumer plastic film reclamation systems. The laminating adhesives presented above were tested and certified to meet the requirements of this protocol for postconsumer recycled pellets and films.
Each laminating adhesive system was evaluated by a third-party lab, IDEOPAK. They conducted analyses on samples consisting of control PE resins, a fifty-fifty blend of the PE resins and the adhesive system, and the adhesive system itself. The tests involved assessing the floatability of each sample and the physical properties of extruded pellets and blown films using each sample. In each test, the fifty-fifty blend demonstrated values within the APR’s preferred guidance values. These results indicate that when a fifty-fifty blend, consisting of 50% of each laminating adhesive system and 50% postconsumer PE, is recycled in the same stream, there is no significant detriment to the recyclability and reusability of the material. In other words, recycled PE resin may contain up to 50% of the laminating adhesive without impacting the quality of postconsumer recycled PE extruded pellets and blown films. In actuality, laminating adhesives typically account for 5% or less of the total weight of a flexible package.
Who Is ChemPoint?
ChemPoint provides converters with the best technical service and speed of response necessary to produce high-quality flexible package laminates that meet development deadlines. We have helped hundreds of converters find the right adhesives and overcome issues to develop durable, beautiful flexible packages and laminates for many industries.
When converters work with ChemPoint and our adhesive portfolio, they gain access to the following at no charge:
Decades of experience troubleshooting flexible package and lamination processes
Access to world-class equipment for lab-, pilot-, and commercial-scale development
Industry-leading response and service times
Learn more about our capabilities here. For our complete portfolio of adhesives and coatings for flexible packaging, industrial laminates, and more, click here.
Ready to develop flexible packaging with better sustainability and less waste? Request a sample of our adhesives and technical assistance by clicking the link below.
