PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2018

LABELLING products 26 PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 07+08/18 www.petpla.net APR-recognised wash-off film labels with recycled liners UPM Raflatac has developed a range of wash-off film label- ling solutions for a variety of end uses that can help brands create a circular economy and also meet or even accelerate their ambitious sustainability targets. These clear, white and metallised film label stocks – featuring UPM Raflatac’s RW85C wash-off adhesive and a PET liner made from 90% post- consumer recycled (PCR) content – have been recognised by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) as exceed- ing their strict standards for recyclable label products. Now available in the Americas and Asia Pacific market regions, the labels are intended for labelling PET containers in the food, beverage, home care and personal care segments. Thanks to the RW85C wash-off adhesive, the labels are able to undergo common PET recycling processes without contaminating any of the PET flake by-products. During the caustic washing process, the polypropylene labels easily separate from PET containers and float, allowing more high- value, clean PET flakes to be recovered. The clean flakes can then be converted back into PET containers, which pro- motes a circular economy and reduces the amount of plastic pollution in landfills and the environment. www.upmraflatac.com Recycle-friendly PETG shrink sleeves Sun Chemical has launched its SunLam de-seaming adhe- sive for shrink-labelled contain- ers. This de-seamable adhesive is intended to help recyclers improve rPET yield without process changes. Developed in partnership, Sun Chemical and Eastman extensively tested SunLam on labels made with Eastman Embrace LV copoly- ester. It has received a “Responsible Innovation Acknowledg- ment” by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) after passing stringent testing outlined by the APR. By changing from a traditional solvent to SunLam de- seaming adhesive, shrink labels de-seam and release during the whole bottle wash step of the wet recycling process, without sacrifice of label performance. The label removal occurs prior to colour, infrared and manual sorting, thus preventing shrink- labelled PET bottles being removed from the rPET stream due to misidentification. The efficacy of SunLam de-seaming adhesive was tested on bottles with shrink sleeves made from Eastman Embrace LV copolyester. The tests utilised whole bottle wash equipment at commercial recycling facilities and yielded results of greater than 95% label removal, with results typically exceeding 99%. By using SunLam de-seaming adhesive, brand owners need not sacrifice full-body shrink sleeve label coverage, shrinkage or quality, says Eastman, but can continue to use full-body shrink labels on their containers. An additional 20% of label surface area is regained with full-body shrink labels, compared to the portion of the bottle that must be left uncov- ered to avoid near-infrared or colour mis-sorting, as bottles with full wrap shrink sleeves could get rejected by the NIR or colour automated sorting equipment. www.sunchemical.com www.eastman.com Oct. 24-26,2018, Mumbai German Technology