WHICH INDUSTRY GIANTS ARE INCREASING THEIR INVESTMENT IN PCR PLASTICS RECENTLY?
2024-12-20
Which industry giants are increasing their investment in PCR plastics recently?
At present, the vast majority of PCR plastic products on the market are still mainly based on physical recycling, and more and more international chemical companies are following the development and application of chemical methods to recycle PCR plastic products. They hope to achieve "carbon reduction" while ensuring the same performance of recycled materials as raw materials.
1.BASF Ultramid recycled material obtained UL certification
BASF announced this week that its Ultramid Ccycled recycled polymer produced at its Freeport, Texas, plant in the United States has been certified by Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
According to UL 2809, Ultramid Ccycled polymers regenerated through post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics can use a mass balance system to meet the recycled material content standards. The grade of this polymer has the same performance as the raw material, and does not require adjustments to traditional processing methods. It can be used in applications such as packaging film, carpets, and furniture, and is a sustainable alternative to raw materials.
BASF is researching new chemical processes to continue to convert some waste plastics into new and valuable raw materials. This approach can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel inputs, while maintaining product quality and performance.
2. Mengniu: Utilize Dow PCR resin
On June 11, Dow and Mengniu jointly announced that they had successfully commercialized the post-consumer recycled resin heat shrink film.
It is understood that this is the first time in the domestic food industry that Mengniu has integrated the industrial ecological power, and has jointly developed with plastic raw material suppliers, packaging manufacturers, recycling and regeneration businesses and other industry chain parties to achieve the recycling and reuse of plastic packaging, and fully applied post-consumer recycled plastics as the outer packaging film of products.
The secondary packaging heat shrinkable film used in Mengniu products is made from Dow's PCR resin formula. This formula contains 40% post-consumer recycled material formula and can increase the content of recycled material in the overall shrink film structure to 13%-24%, resulting in films with performance comparable to that of virgin resin. At the same time, the amount of plastic waste in the environment is reduced, and the closed-loop application of packaging recycling is realized in a real sense.
① Mengniu Lactobacillus drink packaging recycling becomes PCR resin
② The packaging bottles of Mengniu Youyi C will also be recycled and transformed into PCR resin materials
3. Unilever: The condiment series has switched to rPET, becoming the first 100% PCR food brand in the UK
In May, Unilever's condiment brand Hellmann's switched to 100% post-consumer recycled PET (rPET) and launched it in the UK. Unilever said that if the series were all replaced with rPET, about 1,480 tons of raw materials would be saved every year.
Currently, nearly half (40%) of Hellmann's products have used recyclable plastics and were on the shelves in May. The company plans to switch to recyclable plastics for all products in this series by the end of 2022.
Andre Burger, Vice President of Food at Unilever UK and Ireland, commented, "Our Hellmann's condiment packaging bottle is the first food brand in the UK to use 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. Although we have encountered challenges in this transition, these experiences will enable us to accelerate the use of more recycled plastic by other Unilever food brands."
4. Acer: launched new machine with PCR plastic shell
On the evening of May 27th, Acer not only announced its participation in the RE100 initiative, pledging to achieve the use of 100% renewable energy by 2035, but also launched the Earthion sustainable platform and introduced the first product under this platform that adopts sustainable concepts - the Aspire Vero notebook, which is made entirely from environmentally friendly materials.
Image: Acer Aspire Vero
The Aspire Vero laptop is the first product of the Earthion platform, using environmentally friendly materials from the body, keycaps to packaging. According to Acer data, the Aspire Vero keyboard cover is composed of 50% PCR plastic; The A and D sides are composed of 30% PCR plastic.
Source: Aibang Polymer
What are the eye-catching PCR solutions on the CHINAPLAS 2021 site?
1. PCR ABS materials exhibited by LG Chem, including white, marble, black and other color schemes.
2 SK mainly displays post-consumer recycled PCR PE.
3. Covestro mainly exhibited post-consumer recycled (PCR) polycarbonate, which contains up to 75% recycled materials and can reduce the carbon footprint by 50% compared to virgin products. The picture shows the mobile phone shell made of recycled polycarbonate from Covestro.
4. Meirui New Material launched high-performance PCR materials for recycling.
5. Long Ruixing exhibited marine recycled plastics, which have passed UL-2809 product qualification certification and are currently used in laptop cases, key caps, and other components.
This article is sourced from: CPRJ Plastic Rubber, PKGFamily, Aibang Polymer, Zhuochuang Plastics, New Observation of Waste Plastics, CHINAPLAS International Plastics and Rubber Exhibition, etc
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