Self-adhesive label material for PET recycling
Herma, a leader in self-adhesive label materials, has introduced the new wash-off adhesive 72Hpw. Thanks to a special formulation, the production costs of the new adhesive are almost on the same level as a conventional permanent standard adhesive, says the company. Nevertheless, it is claimed to make it possible to generate pure PET flakes with the usual industrial washing processes, without disturbing residues of labels and the printing inks contained on them. At the same time, this adhesive also benefits from the wash-off know-how that Herma states to have acquired in this field: The new adhesive has been designed to achieve good values in the important initial adhesion, i. e. the tack, and in the wash-off rate. They are claimed to be very similar to the more expensive wash-off adhesives that have already been introduced.
Institut cyclos-HTP has already certified the adhesive 72Hpw for wash-off applications in combination with the film Herma PP white super tc (grade 881). This means that PET bottles can also be visually attractive for products such as beverages, cleaning agents (detergents), cosmetics and personal care. They can all be recycled in industry-standard recycling plants. The adhesive 72Hpw has been developed for applications where the label is to be washed off in warm alkaline water. Good results are already achieved at 70 °C in a 1% sodium hydroxide solution, explains Herma. Further material combinations are currently still in the test phase. These include, for example, the extra light and therefore resource-friendly films Herma PP 50 white (grade 884) and Herma PP 50 transparent super tc (grade 886).
