42 PETplanet Insider Vol. 25 No. 05/24 www.petpla.net PETproducts UPM Raflatac receives APR Design for Recyclability recognitions for three types of label solutions UPM Raflatac, a global supplier of self-adhesive paper and film products, has been formally recognised by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) for three types of biaxially-oriented polypropylene (BOPP) label products for HDPE and PP package recycling. These include Undecorated BOPP with hotmelt adhesive, Undecorated BOPP with RW85C, and metalised undecorated BOPP with general purpose acrylic adhesive. APR Design for Recyclability Recognition provides third-party validation that a package or packaging component’s design is compatible with the North American recycling system. This process has now confirmed that UPM Raflatac’s BOPP products, as stated above, have met the highest criteria for recyclability according to the APR Design Guide. UPM Raflatac’s latest recognitions are all for HDPE and PP recycling. www.upmrafl atac.com Water-washable plates for label printing promises 30% CO2 emission reduction Flexographic printing is a widely used printing method around the world. Currently, the printing plates used are primarily solventwashable plates that require an organic solvent-based washing solution in the wash out step of the plate-making process. Asahi Kasei develops and manufactures water-washable plates that use a water-based washing solution, which is claimed to be more environmentally friendly. Asahi Kasei Corp., headquartered in Tokyo which is the parent company of Asahi Photoproducts, announced that Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd., also headquartered in Tokyo, has switched to AWP water-washable flexographic plates for the printing of beverage labels in Japan on their 550ml PET bottles. This is the first time for AWP plates to be used for printing labels in the beverage industry in Japan. In implementing this next-generation flexo printing technology, Asahi Kasei collaborated with Fuji Seal, Inc. According to research by Fuji Seal, this is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 30% compared to the plate technology that had previously been used. The AWP water-washable plates adopted for label printing at Suntory Beverage & Food are now used at its Suntory Kyushu Kumamoto Plant, where solvent-washable plates had previously been used. The Asahi Kasei Group will continue to promote its AWP family of water-washable plates to replace solvent-washable plates in beverage label applications. It is expected that this can reduce the environmental impact of printing. www.asahi-photoproducts.com LABELLING
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