TAGS: Sustainability and Bioplastics Transparency
Toray Industries, Inc., Dow Inc., Comexi Group Industries, S.A.U., Sakata Inx Corporation and SGK Japan (Schawk Japan K.K.) announce that they have jointly developed a surface printing mono-material film packaging material technology.
Complies with EU's Designed for Recyclability Criteria
This technology complies with the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, which aims to help realize a low-carbon, circular global economy. The material will serve in wide-ranging food and daily necessities applications.
Flexible film substrates are used in a myriad of different applications including food packaging and detergent refill pouches. This is because they are light, transparent, and easy to process. With the global population rising, the worldwide film packaging demand should increase 4% to 5% annually from the 2023 level of 33 million metric tons.
The issue with many existing film packaging materials is that they are hard to recycle. This is because they are made by laminating films made from different materials to achieve the functional and shape requirements of the application.
In view of this shortcoming, the European Union is mandating that all packaging materials are designed for recyclability by 2030. In April 2024, the European parliament adopted the new Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation. The aim is to reduce packaging waste and make it more sustainable. This legislation has a broad scope and includes the need to classify plastic packaging according to recyclability criteria, broadly aligned with proposals from industry associations such as RecyClass.
Find new opportunities in food packaging by reviewing latest barrier innovations, promising materials & technologies.
Minimizing the Use of Multiple Polymers and Additives to Ease Recycling
Full details will now be determined in associated CEN standards but in general, packaging will need to be made as much as possible, with a single polymeric material. This will minimize the presence of other polymers and additives that could negatively impact recycling.
Toray, Dow, Comexi, Sakata Inx, and SGK JAPAN responded to this progress by jointly developing a surface-printed mono-material film packaging material technology. It can reduce plastic consumption and significantly lower CO
2 emissions from printing processes while satisfying the recommendations above. As well as designing for recyclability and cutting CO
2 emissions, this technology should also help cut costs and shorten delivery times owing to abbreviated manufacturing processes.
Individual Contributions of the Partners
For this collaboration, Toray used its new RESOLUCIA™ flexographic plate for film packaging printing. The plate-making process replaces organic solvents with water during development to ensure high print quality.
Dow contributed by designing and producing a polyethylene film suitable for surface printing. It includes a thin gas barrier layer and high-performance materials such as INNATE™ and AFFINITY™ resins to achieve the abuse resistance and seal performance required for conversion.
Sakata Inx supplied its electron beam flexo inks and varnishes, which were used to produce printed materials on a Comexi electron beam flexo press, renowned for being a high productive and easy to use. The packaging design involves printing on the surface only, reducing the number of film layers required. SGK Japan’s design approach minimizes ink usage while maintaining the aesthetic quality.
Fostering a Circular Economy in Film Packaging Industry
The companies are joining forces to leverage advanced printing technology and standardize film packaging for food and daily necessities. This will ultimately reduce the environmental footprint of the film packaging industry and foster a sustainable economy.
Collaborating companies will exhibit samples of film packaging materials using this technology at their booths(Hall3/E83, Hall3/C71) during DRUPA 2024, one of the world’s largest printing exhibitions. That event will be in Düsseldorf, Germany, from May 28 to June 7.
Source: Toray
