- INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe becomes world’s first polymer producer to successfully commission a new multilayer, blown film line with Machine Direction Orientation at R&D Centre in Brussels
- Enables INEOS and customers to co-develop recyclable flexible packaging films that replace difficult-to-recycle multi-material packaging films
- Customers can carry out full-scale tests without losing production capacity on their own lines
- Investment could help to prevent around one million tonnes of waste from being sent to landfill each year
INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe has become the first polymer producer in the world to successfully commission a new pilot line that it will use with customers to co-develop recyclable flexible packaging films. The multi-million Euro investment could help to prevent around one million tonnes of waste from being sent to landfill each year(1).
The new multilayer, blown film line with Machine Direction Orientation (MDO) has been installed at INEOS’ R&D centre in Brussels, Belgium. It enables customers to carry out full-scale tests without losing production capacity on their own lines. The first collaboration projects are already under way, developing new films that can be applied directly to customer production lines.
Flexible films provide lightweight, low emission packaging for transporting goods, increasing the shelf life of food products. However, today’s multi-material packaging films combine different polymers, each performing different functions, but which in combination make the film difficult to recycle. Making simpler films with the same performance means the new packaging can be more easily recycled, to meet the requirements of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation.
Rob Ingram, CEO, INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe, said: “Flexible packaging films play a valuable role in society, but we recognise and share people’s concerns about plastic waste. Every day we work alongside stakeholders across the value chain who share our commitment to a circular economy, developing more sustainable solutions to consumers’ needs. Fully recyclable films are a big development and I’m excited about the possibilities created by our investment in this new MDO line.”
The state-of-the-art technology, supplied by Hosokawa Alpine, heats and stretches polymer films to improve their physical and barrier properties, enabling them to be used in different product applications.
1) Source: Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging, 2016. CEFLEX is a collaboration of over 180 European companies, associations and organizations representing the flexible packaging value chain
ENDS
Media contacts
Alistair Shaw, INEOS Olefins & Polymers Europe
t: 07817458865 e: alistair.shaw@ineos.com
Note to Editors
INEOS is using the new pilot line and its polymer expertise to develop new, packaging film products from polyethylene and polypropylene. These films are set to replace stiffer materials like the commonly used biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate, or BOPET, which is itself recyclable but hinders the recyclability of multimaterial films when combined with polyethylene or polypropylene. By simplifying the film to polyethylene or polypropylene with MDO, the new film is recyclable while still meeting the customer’s technical requirements.