SABIC, a global leader in the chemical industry says it is addressing the challenges of the packaging industry with an extensive display of advanced material and technology solutions at Interpack 2023, demonstrating the feasibility of combining enhanced sustainability with high durability and aesthetics.
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Reduce waste
One of the most effective means of reducing waste is the use of durable yet lightweight, mono-material solutions and applications designed for recycling.
- Tethered closures: Injection moulded with an organoleptic SABIC HDPE food-grade, this tethered closure design for recycling meets with the new single-use plastics directive that makes closures, caps and lids to remain attached to all beverage containers mandatory by 2024 in the EU.
- Heat resistant mono-PE pouches: In a close collaboration between SABIC and Covestro, a new fully recyclable stand-up pouch made with SABIC BOPE material including Covestro’s heat-resistant coating resin technology was developed. This transparent coating, currently in trial phase, has been tested and validated, offering a broader sealing temperature window when processing on form fill and seal (FFS) lines for flexible packaging as it prevents both, film shrinkage and film sticking to heat seal bars during FFS.
The new PE based high-performance, recyclable, mono-material stand-up pouch supports the drive to achieve a circular economy for flexible packaging, as it is a viable solution to replace PET or PA laminates in incumbent solutions. SABIC’s BOPE material is part of SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio.
- Sustainable foamed packaging solutions: Food tray from IP Verpackung and foam blow-molded bottle from SABIC. The tray can help reduce plastics packaging waste by moving from a single-use PS product to a reusable and recyclable SABIC®PP-UMS resin, a new generation of high-melt strength, foamable PP solutions. The bottle is made of SABIC HDPE with chemical and mechanical recycled content from our TRUCIRCLE portfolio, with good impact strength and drop performance. Potential of up to 25% weight saving. Read more.
Bio-based feedstock solutions
Like the TRUCIRCLE portfolio of certified circular polymers, SABIC’s certified renewable solutions are ISCC PLUS mass balance accredited. Importantly, they do not compete with human food or animal feed production.
- Cosmetics refill container: The new refill containers have been designed for use with STELLA Alter-Care Serum and Restore Cream. They feature three SABIC’s polyolefin resins with a combined mass-balanced certified renewable feedstock content of up to 90% and meet with the vegan branding of the cosmetics manufacturer. Certified renewable, impact resistant SABIC HDPE selected for the injection molded container heads by Texen, the container bodies made from certified renewable SABIC® LLDPE by Leygatech, a leading manufacturer of barrier and multi-layer films, supplies a film and flip top closures injection molded by Texen in certified renewable SABIC PP polymer complete the packaging. Plant-based bio-based feedstock of SABIC materials supports vegan branding of customer.
Increasing circularity
SABIC’s certified circular polymers are based on a mass balance accounting approach according to ISCC PLUS, validating the feedstock content from advanced chemical recycling of mixed plastic waste and contributing to the reduction of virgin plastic consumption.
- Retort pouches for wet pet food: SABIC, Mars Petcare and Huhtamaki successfully collaborated in the development of an innovative multi-layer film structure for SHEBA® brand cat food pouches using certified circular PP copolymer from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio. The phthalate-free and gel-controlled film layer has a 30% average recycled content in the packaging and reduces the use of virgin plastic by around 25%. Read more.
- Market-first mono-material pasta packaging with PCR: Italian pasta maker Garofalo has launched the market’s first pasta bags using a basic flexible BOPP film from Polivouga and a cast PP film from GT Polifilm for a mono-material packaging solution that can easily be recycled in existing PP waste streams. The BOPP film is made with post-consumer recycle (PCR) material derived from advanced (non-mechanical) recycling and accounts for 30% of PCR in the structure.
Closing the loop & reuse of ocean bound plastic
One of the biggest challenges in achieving circularity is to implement sustainable solutions that will effectively close the loop of plastic packaging within one and the same packaging application segment. On another level, the vast amount of ocean-bound plastic litter in coastal areas requires fast action to prevent it from polluting our oceans and return it into the material stream of new packaging products.
- KIND Healthy snack bar wrappers: SABIC joined forces with MARS and Landbell in a closed-loop project on KIND’s healthy snack bar wrappers based on certified circular SABIC PP. Advanced recycling of mixed post-consumer plastics collected by Landbell is used to produce food-contact approved certified circular PP and converted into flexible BOPP packaging structure. This mono-material application facilitates end-of-life recycling in existing collection and conversion operations without compromising quality and processability.
- Mess-free, portionable and microwavable Heinz Beanz Snap Pots: In an innovative recycling trial designed to close the loop on soft plastic food packaging in the UK, Heinz, Tesco, Berry Global and SABIC have teamed up to create a certified circular PP solution for Heinz Beanz Snap Pots. Soft plastic packaging waste is returned by consumers to collection points at Tesco stores and then converted in an anaerobic process to oil. SABIC uses the oil in the production of new PP resin, from which Berry Global manufactures Snap Pots for filling with Beanz and delivery to Tesco. The new tubs contain 39% of certified circular SABIC PP. The solution has won a silver award from Dow's Packaging Innovation 2022 Awards and it is shortlisted for the UK Environmental Packaging 2023 Awards.
- Frozen seafood packaging solution from ocean-bound plastics: Coldwater Prawns of Norway, SABIC and Estiko Group have developed a multi-layer packaging film based on a SABIC PP QRYSTAL random PP polymer with 60% mass balanced ocean bound plastic (OBP) content. This TRUCIRCLE project is designed to reuse post-consumer plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50 km inland from waterways that otherwise has the potential to end up in our rivers and oceans. The sustainable solution ensures the high mechanical and aesthetic properties expected from premium Coldwater prawns packaging and provided a ready drop-in-solution with no compromises on processability and food safety.
Also on display, a frozen seafood packaging bag from Nueva Pescanova Group using SABIC’s certified circular PE made with OBP feedstock. The Edison Awards recognized SABIC’s collaboration in the innovative development of a frozen food packaging solution with a gold award within the “Green Remediation” category. The solution was designed in collaboration with manufacturer of flexible film products, Polivouga and the brand owner Nueva Pescanova Group, who specialize in products like frozen seafood, making it a truly circular product. Read more.
Consumer appeal & convenience
Beyond sustainability, consumers expect advanced new packaging products to also provide a maximum of aesthetic appeal and in-use convenience.
- Tea capsules: Melitta Single Portions is using a food-grade SABIC QRYSTAL PP copolymer with certified feedstock from recycled used plastic waste for its Avoury brand tea capsules. The transparent, aesthetic and lightweight capsules support up to 80% reduction of fossil depletion vs. conventional designs.
- Yoghurt cups: At their Thin-wall Application Center in Switzerland, SABIC and NETSTAL are collaborating to transfer the technology of injection compression molding (ICM) to the thin-wall packaging market. ICM opens significant opportunities for down-gauging at lower injection pressures, reduced clamp forces and shorter cycle times. A perfect example are lightweight yet stiff and stackable, aesthetic yoghurt cups molded in a phthalate-free
SABIC PP FLOWPACT grade that ensures high product safety at lower material consumption.
Transportation packaging solutions
In most developed global supply chains, an estimated 4% of transported goods are damaged in some form during transport. For brand owners, manufacturers and carriers to minimize their losses due to this problem, materials used in transport packaging must provide enhanced protection and load stability. At the same time, they must also offer superior processing characteristics and mechanical properties for product unitization and logistic purposes.
- Stretch hoods with up to 30% PCR: Replacing traditional ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) elastomeric containing structures, SABIC’s mono-PE stretch hood solution uses a blend of COHERE™ (POP) and SUPEER™ (mLLDPE) resins to achieve the right balance of stretchability, stiffness and holding force. In use at the company’s own plant in Genk, Belgium, these stretch films have a post-consumer recycle (PCR) content of in the range of 30%, which results in a carbon emissions reduction potential of about 20%. The SUPEER material is also available in certified renewable grades with second-generation bio-based feedstock, further reducing the carbon footprint.
- Collation shrink film with enhanced visual appearance: Sustainable shrink films designed for recycling and reduced use of virgin feedstock must maintain stringent food packaging standards with no compromise in transparency and gloss. SABIC has developed collation shrink film solutions based on SABIC LDPE and SUPEER mLLDPE resin grades that combine ease of processing, optimal shrinkage, high holding force and puncture resistance with excellent surface gloss and transparency. Both polymers are also available with certified renewable content from second-generation bio-based feedstock.
- Heavy duty bags with mechanically recycled feedstock: There is a strong trend towards using mechanically recycled PCR in non-food packaging film products such as heavy duty bags. In a Bag2Bag closed-loop collaboration initiative with Fardem Packaging, 50% of the bag film was changed over to PCR, resulting in a carbon footprint reduction of about 35% vs. traditional structures. The solution has won a Rethink Award in 2019.
Industrial packaging solutions
SABIC also offers a broad portfolio of sustainable materials for non-food industrial packaging applications, including intermediate bulk containers, jerry cans and tight & open head drums from
5 L up to 1,000 L.
- Blow molded bottles for food: Sustainable bottles used for food packaging require high purity and perfect organoleptics, while also providing lightweighting for reduced material consumption and lower transportation costs. SABIC HDPE food-contact polymers are available in a wide range of fully recyclable mono-, bi- and multi-modal blow molding grades, including certified renewable solutions from SABIC’s TRUCIRCLE portfolio using second-generation bio-based feedstock. They show good flow and strong environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR), which opens down-gauging opportunities without compromising top load performance.
- Blow molded bottles for home care and industrial chemicals (HIC): With similar properties as their food-grade counterparts, SABIC’s HDPE blow-molding resins for HIC packaging applications can also be supplied as certified circular solutions with up to 50% PCR.
Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) for repeated use: The market segment of IBCs, jerry cans and head drums is driven by down-gauging for light weight while maintaining good processability, ESCR, stiffness and impact strength. The SABIC HDPE portfolio for blow molding these industrial containers complies with UN certification requirements and is also available in certified r