The Huhtamaki team, together with partners Plastuni Lisses, member of the Somater Group, and Zalesi, have developed polyethylene (PE) based tubes that have been certified as fully recyclable within the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) container stream by RecyClass, the cross-industry initiative that works to advance plastic packaging recyclability and to establish a harmonized approach towards recycled content calculation and traceability in Europe.
“The new recyclable blueloop laminates are a perfect example of effectively implementing sustainable design principles and contributing to the development of the circular economy,” says Jens Pilzecker, Head of Global Tube Laminates at Huhtamaki’s Flexible Packaging segment. “With these laminate structures we help our customers take a big step forward in addressing their sustainability targets as they can now package products in fully recyclable high-barrier tubes. In addition, this innovation is in line with our target of designing 100% of our products to be recyclable, compostable or reusable by 2030.”
Availability of high-quality recycled material is still a major bottleneck in the transition to a circular economy and Huhtamaki Flexible Packaging is proud to offer these new fully recyclable laminate structures as part of the solution. According to the recycling analysis carried out by the Institut für Kunststofftechnologie und -recycling (IKTR), as per the RecyClass Recyclability Evaluation Protocol for HDPE containers, the recycled plastic generated in the mechanical recycling process can be used in high-value applications such as HDPE bottles.
Product specifications
The new Huhtamaki range of recyclable tube laminate structures caters for a variety of end applications within the oral care and cosmetics segments. The polyethylene laminates contain an EVOH barrier, which represents less than 4% of the total weight of the tubes, and a PE tie layer which further improves their recyclability within the HDPE stream. The laminates can be printed with universal printing technologies for an attractive finish and to maximize shelf-appeal. The tubes have HDPE shoulders and a HDPE cap which further improves the quality of the final recycled plastics.
