Advanced Material and Technology Solutions at Interpack 2023
SABIC has addressed the challenges of the packaging industry with an extensive display of advanced material and technology solutions at Interpack 2023, demonstrating the feasibility of combining enhanced sustainability with high durability and aesthetics.
Over the past three years, the company has been collaborating with numerous leading players across the packaging value chain, focusing on key drivers in the market: waste reduction, use of certified circular polymers (including products based on recovered ocean-bound plastic), certified renewable polymers, closed-loop solutions, enhanced functionality/consumer appeal and industrial solutions. The products and samples on display at Booth B21 in Hall 9 during the show from May 4 to 10 at Messe Düsseldorf, Germany, feature many solutions from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE™ program and demonstrate how dedicated industrial partnerships are accelerating the journey towards real circularity without compromising product performance.
Reduce waste
One of the most effective means of reducing waste is the use of durable yet lightweight, mono-material solutions and applications designed for recycling.
Tethered closures: Injection molded with an organoleptic SABIC® HDPE food-grade, this tethered closure design for recycling meets with the new single-use plastics directive that makes closures, caps and lids to remain attached to all beverage containers mandatory by 2024 in the EU. Read more.
Heat resistant mono-PE pouches: In a close collaboration between SABIC and Covestro, a new fully recyclable stand-up pouch made with SABIC® BOPE material including Covestro’s heat-resistant coating resin technology was developed. This transparent coating, currently in trial phase, has been tested and validated, offering a broader sealing temperature window when processing on form fill and seal (FFS) lines for flexible packaging as it prevents both, film shrinkage and film sticking to heat seal bars during FFS. The new PE based high-performance, recyclable, mono-material stand-up pouch supports the drive to achieve a circular economy for flexible packaging, as it is a viable solution to replace PET or PA laminates in incumbent solutions. SABIC’s BOPE material is part of SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio.
Sustainable foamed packaging solutions: Food tray from IP Verpackung and foam blow-molded bottle from SABIC. The tray can help reduce plastics packaging waste by moving from a single-use PS product to a reusable and recyclable SABIC® PP-UMS resin, a new generation of high-melt strength, foamable PP solutions. The bottle is made of SABIC HDPE with chemical and mechanical recycled content from our TRUCIRCLE portfolio, with good impact strength and drop performance. Potential of up to 25% weight saving.
Bio-based feedstock solutions
Like the TRUCIRCLE portfolio of certified circular polymers, SABIC’s certified renewable solutions are ISCC PLUS mass balance accredited. Importantly, they do not compete with human food or animal feed production.
Cosmetics refill container: The new refill containers have been designed for use with STELLA Alter-Care Serum and Restore Cream. They feature three SABIC’s polyolefin resins with a combined mass-balanced certified renewable feedstock content of up to 90% and meet with the vegan branding of the cosmetics manufacturer. Certified renewable, impact resistant SABIC HDPE selected for the injection molded container heads by Texen, the container bodies made from certified renewable SABIC® LLDPE by Leygatech, a leading manufacturer of barrier and multi-layer films, supplies a film and flip top closures injection molded by Texen in certified renewable SABIC PP polymer complete the packaging. Plant-based bio-based feedstock of SABIC materials supports vegan branding of customer.
Increasing circularity
SABIC’s certified circular polymers are based on a mass balance accounting approach according to ISCC PLUS, validating the feedstock content from advanced chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste and contributing to the reduction of virgin plastic consumption.
Retort pouches for wet pet food: SABIC, Mars Petcare and Huhtamaki successfully collaborated in the development of an innovative multi-layer film structure for SHEBA® brand cat food pouches using certified circular PP copolymer from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio. The phthalate-free and gel-controlled film layer has a 30% average recycled content in the packaging and reduces the use of virgin plastic by around 25%. Read more.
Market-first mono-material pasta packaging with PCR: Italian pasta maker Garofalo has launched the market’s first pasta bags using a basic flexible BOPP film from Polivouga and a cast PP film from GT Polifilm for a mono-material packaging solution that can easily be recycled in existing PP waste streams.