Extrusion International USA 4-2019

PREVIEW 54 Extrusion International 4/2019 As action to tackle the challenge of plastic pollution gains momentum, including a new international framework signed by G20 ministers to address marine plastic waste, specialty chemical company Clariant announces proactive steps to foster partnerships and create a more sustainable plastics industry through a “Symphony of Collaboration”. Whilst plastic has been described as the ‘success story of the 20th century’, its sustainability is increasingly under the spotlight. Every year, about 200-million tons are disposed of in landfills and about eight-million tons leak into our oceans. Responding to consumer-led concern around this waste, Clariant’s “Symphony of Collaboration” recognizes that regulators, industry and society have a responsibility to work more closely to drive design for, and innovation in, the reduction, reuse and recycling of plastics. At K 2019, Clariant will shine a light on collaborative sus- tainability projects and the products behind them, sup- porting the development of solutions that will be ad- opted in the market. This includes the launch of a major new company-wide initiative specifically focused on plas- tics’ recycling. It aims to change the current take-make- dispose consumer attitude, moving towards a circular economy for post-consumer and post-industrial plastic through three key elements: the development of product and system solutions for recycling; partnerships with play- ers across the recycling ecosystem to draw on different perspectives and develop new solutions; achieving a vast and diverse understanding of the challenges by sharing knowledge across different recycling technologies and the value chain of recycling. Already, one important partnership has delivered some breakthrough results. Together with the Finnish oil refin- ing company, Neste, which is passionate about giving fat residues and discarded cooking oils a second life, Clari- ant has been exploring opportunities to use renewable hydrocarbons, derived from this waste. More will be re- vealed at K, including new products for plastic applica- tions based on mass-balance certification for usage of renewable polyolefins. With a partner for Near Infrared (NIR) scanners, Clari- ant developed new colorants for the black coloration of plastics that can be identified by NIR sorting devices. This new range of black colorants can be used for various poly- mers (e.g. Polyolefins, PET, PA) and applications such as packaging and E&E. This offers brand owners and master- batch producers new opportunities. In line with making recycling a viable option, Clariant announced a support boost for effective mono-material consumer solutions. A key priority here is ensuring the at- tractiveness of virgin PET for packaging. At K 2019, Clari- ant will launch its new masterbatch for PET destined for the food and beverage market. The patented oxygen scavenger is based on a new molecule that goes beyond existing solutions for PET in protecting content shelf life and taste. It’s proving a real success in initial customer tri- als, offering the potential to address a number of chal- lenges for packaging producers in one solution. In a further drive for collaboration, Clariant is also tak- ing its EcoTain® label, currently awarded to a portfolio of more than 200 products that show outstanding sus- tainability advantages, to the next level. EcoTain is being expanded to include EcoTain Partnerships that will fos- ter collaboration between at least three partners in the value chain to create concrete sustainability and business impacts, and advance environmental protection and the circular economy. At K 2019, Clariant will issue an open invitation to companies to come together and collabo- rate specifically on one particularly challenging aspect of recycling. ‘Symphony of Collaboration’ Clariant www.clariant.com/K2019 K 2019: Hall 8a, Booth J11 To be unveiled at K 2019: collaborative sustainability projects and the products behind them (Photo: Clariant)