One of the global leaders in adhesive technologies, Bostik, has become the 50th participant to join Nextek’s Nextloopp project in a push for food-grade recycled polypropylene (rPP).
The multi-participant project continues to break new ground in its mission to create food-grade and INRT-grade rPP, which is a high-quality polymer developed specifically for packaging that require no odour or migration challenges, from post-consumer packaging waste.
The project entails separating food-grade PP from the rest using cutting-edge marker technology, PolyPRISM, to identify and sort any number of pack variants from butter tubs and yoghurt pots, to coffee pouches and detergent bottles in any plastic type.
Nextloop then decontaminates the polymer to ensure compliance with food-grade standards in the UK, the EU and the USA, using patented PPristine technology, and turns it back into food-grade recyclates ready to be included in new food-grade PP packaging.
“Bostik’s commitment to help build a more sustainable world, in this instance by improving recycling stream effectiveness, resonates with Nextloopp’s objective to ensure every aspect of packaging design is as sustainable as possible,” said Edward Kosior, founder and CEO of Nextek.
“Adhesives play a fundamental role in recycling, as glue residues can’t be filtered out and must be completely removed from the pack.
“Bostik offers high-tech solutions to avoid glues leaching into recycled plastics, and we are delighted to welcome Bostik’s extensive expertise in adhesives to solve these challenges.”
Nextloop’s 50 participants have been selected to represent the entire PP supply chain. It sees brand-owners, suppliers, universities, industry associations, and PP end-users joined in the common goal to close the loop on one of the most converted polymers among all plastic waste.
In 2018, the market share for PP was about 20 per cent, yet PP was the least recycled polymer (at 3-5 per cent) due to its use in non-bottle packaging, such as pots, tubs and trays.
“We appreciate the opportunity to participate in Nextloopp and support its overall objective to demonstrate circular recycling for PP food trays,” said Eric Parois, Bostik’s global market director for label and narrow web technologies.
“In particular, because it is focused on PP, Nextloopp complements what we are working on for PET and HDPE circular recycling.
“It provides us with a new avenue to explore how Bostik laminating adhesives, seal and reseal PP tray lidding adhesives, and PP tray wash-off label adhesives can bring forward 100 per cent recyclable solutions, as we work together to decrease virgin plastic consumption.”
The multi-participant project continues to trial and advance its cleaning, sorting and decontamination technologies in a lead-up to implementation at commercial scale.
Hear more from Edward Kosior, founder of Nextek and innovator behind the Nextloopp initiative, in episode 62 of the PKN Podcast.
