ChemCycling™ sources feedstock from post-consumer plastic waste to produce virgin grade material for food contact approved quality.

Leading global packaging and paper group Mondi, in cooperation with chemical producer BASF and COROOS, one of the biggest European companies in the preservation of fruits, vegetables and pulses for premium A-brands and private label products, have cooperated on a state-of-the-art pilot project. Together they produced a stand-up pouch that is safe for food contact partly made with raw material which was derived from chemically recycled plastic. Until now, recycling plastic has chiefly been mechanical, limiting the scope of plastics that can be recycled and limiting the number of products that can be created with recycled material, in particular for the strict legal European regulations in place for food packaging.

Mondi believes that packaging should be sustainable by design, using paper where possible, and plastic when useful. For food protection and extending shelf life, plastic is often the best choice because of its barrier properties. These requirements make it difficult to use mechanically recycled plastic due to potential impurities and plastic flaws that can occur in the layers, limiting the applicability for food contact. “BASF is working on advancing the chemical recycling of plastic waste, because this will make it possible to process and reuse plastics that are currently difficult to recycle such as mixed plastics. This prototype packaging which is based on pyrolysis oil derived from waste plastic shows that the life cycle of consumer plastics, including multilayer packaging, could become a closed loop,” explained Christoph Gahn, who is responsible for the polyamide business at BASF.

As a leader in the flexible packaging market, Mondi partnered with BASF to produce this virgin grade material into a multi-layer laminate for food packaging for COROOS private label products and their own A-brand Servero. In the manufacturing, 100% of the fossil feedstock was replaced by pyrolysis oil derived from mixed recycled material for one of the inner layers (oriented polyamide, OPA- 12 m m) . In total 12% of the packaging weight is made of ChemCycled material. The recycled material was allocated via a certified mass balance approach. Graeme Smith – Sustainability Manager for Mondi Consumer Packaging - explained more about the pilot project: “It is important to show proof of concept when establishing breakthrough developments, and for chemical recycling it is an essential part of the roadmap to commercialising this process in the future.”

Sustainable solutions are not just a priority for Mondi, but across the entire value chain: “COROOS is partnering in this project because we care about sustainability and are looking into different options to improve our footprint, e.g. by using packaging from recycled materials, packaging materials being recyclable and/or by being re-usable” shared Elke Schroevers, the Marketing Manager of COROOS. With this development, the way is paved for plastic waste to become a new resource for flexible packaging while replacing fossil fuels. 

Physical samples have been produced during a recent line trial by COROOS and will be presented at FachPack in Nuremberg, Germany from 24-26 th of September 2019. 

BASF’s ChemCycling

ChemCycling is the name of the project with which BASF is further developing the chemical recycling of plastic waste: Plastic waste that is difficult to recycle, such as mixed or contaminated plastics, is converted into a pyrolysis oil through thermochemical processes by partners. This secondary raw material can be used as input in BASF’s production process, thereby partly replacing fossil resources, to manufacture numerous chemical products. Using a certified mass balance approach, the share of recycled raw material can be mathematically allocated to the final certified product. To move from the pilot phase to market readiness, various technological, regulatory and economic issues still need to be resolved.

Contact

Judith Wronn, Senior Communications Manager, Mondi Consumer Packaging
Tel: +49 151 17714692
Email: Judith.Wronn@mondigroup.com

About Mondi

Mondi is a global leader in packaging and paper, delighting its customers and consumers with innovative packaging and paper solutions that are sustainable by design. Our business is fully integrated across the packaging and paper value chain – from managing forests and producing pulp, paper and plastic films, to developing and manufacturing effective industrial and consumer packaging solutions. Sustainability is embedded in everything we do. In 2018, Mondi had revenues of €7.48 billion and underlying EBITDA of €1.76 billion.

Mondi has a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange (MNDI), and a secondary listing on the JSE Limited (MNP). Mondi is a FTSE 100 constituent, and has been included in the FTSE4Good Index Series since 2008 and the FTSE/JSE Responsible Investment Index Series since 2007. 

About COROOS

COROOS is a Dutch family business since 1957. Our core competence is preserving fruit, vegetables and pulses for premium A-brands, private label and fancy label products. In Europe, COROOS is one of the top 3 producers in jars, tin cans, cups and flexible pouches. In 2018, COROOS had revenues of €200 million and 400 employees. Our quality products find their way to the consumer through the supermarkets of European retail partners. We believe that innovation is the basis for future growth. We therefore invest in our brands, people, factories and in long-term relationships with our partners. As sustainability is high on our agenda, we are exclusive partner in this innovative ChemCycle project with BASF and Mondi. 

About BASF

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. The approximately 122,000 employees in the BASF Group work on contributing to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio is organized into six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €63 billion in 2018. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the U.S. Further information at www.basf.com.