Ineos Olefins and Polymers Europe, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland, has joined HolyGrail 2.0, the digital watermarks initiative designed to improve the sorting and recycling of end-of-life plastic packaging. The company says this move reinforces its commitment to creating a truly circular economy where all plastics can be properly recycled and reused in high-quality products, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of plastic products and packaging.
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HolyGrail 2.0 aims to address and improve how postuse plastic packaging is sorted into different types, making recycling more efficient.
The Digital Watermarks Initiative HolyGrail 2.0 uses digital watermarks, or imperceptible codes, that cover the surface of the packaging and are detectable by special cameras linked to high-speed sorting systems.
Ineos says joining the initiative builds on the commercialization of its Recycl-IN range of polyethylene and polypropylene products, which was launched in 2019 to provide converters with a complete portfolio of resins with up to 70 percent postconsumer recycled content and properties on par with virgin polymers.
Rob Ingram, CEO of INEOS Olefins and Polymers North, says, “Partnering with HolyGrail 2.0 demonstrates our commitment to taking action across the value chain to create a more sustainable future. It fits perfectly with the Ineos goal to increase recycling rates and the use of recycled materials back into everyday products. This is an exciting next step on our path to full packaging circularity.”
He continues, “Plastics are essential to our everyday lives. They keep our food fresh and safe to eat and help us produce other day-to-day items, like our phones and our televisions. But we recognize and share people’s concerns—working together we can make the plastic economy more circular and help to reduce plastic waste.”
Earlier this year, Digimarc Corp., Beaverton, Oregon, and AIM – European Brands Association, Brussels, announced that the Digital Watermarks Initiative HolyGrail 2.0 completed a semi-industrial trial demonstrating an average detection rate of 99 percent, while ejection and purity rates were 95 percent, on average. The organizations say the results demonstrate that Digimarc’s technology performs well across all tested categories of plastic packaging in conditions representing routine industrial operations, even at higher belt speed and when the packaging has severe soiling and crushing.
