Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Sustainable Plastics
  • Rubber News
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Processor News
    • Suppliers
    • More News
    • Digital Edition
    • End Markets
    • Special Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Videos
    • Podcasts
    • Injection Molding
    • Blow Molding
    • Film & Sheet
    • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
    • Rotomolding
    • Thermoforming
    • Recycling
    • Machinery
    • Materials
    • Molds/Tooling
    • Product news
    • Design
    • K Show
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Sustainability
    • Public Policy
    • Material Insights Videos
    • Numbers that Matter
    • Automotive
    • Packaging
    • Medical
    • Consumer Products
    • Construction
    • CFO of the Year
    • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
    • Processor of the Year
    • Best Places to Work
    • Women Breaking the Mold
    • Rising Stars
    • Diversity
    • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
  • Opinion
    • The Plastics Blog
    • Kickstart
    • One Good Resin
    • Pellets and Politics
    • All Things Data
    • Viewpoint
    • From Pillar to Post
    • Perspective
    • Mailbag
    • Fake Plastic Trees
  • Shop Floor
    • Blending
    • Compounding
    • Drying
    • Injection Molding
    • Purging
    • Robotics
    • Size Reduction
    • Structural Foam
    • Tooling
    • Training
  • Events
    • Plastics News Events
    • Industry Events
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Livestreams/Webinars
    • Editorial Livestreams
    • Ask the Expert
    • Plastics News Events Library
    • Plastics News Executive Forum
    • Injection Molding & Design Expo
    • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
    • Bioplastics Live
    • Numbers that Matter Live
    • PFAS Live
    • Plastics in Politics Live
    • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Polymer Points Live
    • Sustainable Plastics Live
    • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
    • Plastics in Healthcare Library
    • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
  • Rankings & Data
    • Injection Molders
    • Blow Molders
    • Film Sheet
    • Thermoformers
    • Pipe Profile Tubing
    • Rotomolders
    • Mold/Toolmakers
    • LSR Processors
    • Recyclers
    • Compounders - List
    • Association - List
    • Plastic Lumber - List
    • All
  • Directory
  • Resin Prices
    • Resin Prices Overview
    • Commodity Thermoplastics
    • High Temperature Thermoplastics
    • Engineering Thermoplastics
    • Recycled Plastics
    • Thermosets
    • Europe - Virgin
    • Europe - Recycled
    • Europe - Feedstock
  • Custom
    • Sponsored Content
    • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
    • Conair Sponsored Content
    • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
    • ENGEL Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • Sign up for Early Classified
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
December 10, 2013 01:00 AM

Coke testing shrink sleeve designed for easier recycling

Jim Johnson
Senior Reporter
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More

    Full-wrap shrink sleeve labels are a marketer's dream and a recycler's nightmare.

    But one of the largest companies in the world believes it is on to a solution for a problem that's been creeping up on the PET recycling industry in recent years.

    Shrink sleeves — those full-bottle labels that provide plenty of room for graphics and product information — are growing in popularity.

    But they also are proving to be a difficult material for plastic recyclers to handle because they throw off sorting equipment, high-tech and low-tech alike.

    Coca-Cola Co., however, is out with a new full-sleeve label that's being tested on a holiday product that company believes provides a pathway to easier recycling.

    Full-sleeve labels can cause problems for optical sorters, for float tanks and for air separation technology, for example, all for different reasons.

    But Coke has developed a new label made from a polyolefin mix instead of a modified PET that mixes with the clear bottle flake in float tanks. Instead, the new label material rises in a float tank and separates from PET that settles to the bottom.

    “We're quite proud and feel like it's a good step forward for the industry. We're not saying it's a silver bullet resolution by any means. But we really want to do our part and feel like this is a good step,” said Jeff Meyers, manager of sustainable packaging for Coca-Cola.

    “There's a bunch of real world testing that's been done to advance and actually commercialize a new label from Coca-Cola,” he said. “The story here is we believe we are the first to market with an APR compatible label per their guidelines.”

    The APR Meyers that speaks about is the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, a trade group that has been working to address shrink sleeve label impacts on recycling. The group has even established a set of shrink sleeve guidelines to help manufacturers make their products more recyclable.

    The issue has been growing as these labels gain traction in the market, said APR technical director John Standish. Bottles with full-sleeve labels account for about 5 percent of the recycled plastic bale these days and is expected to continue to grow in the years ahead.

    This year, Standish said, was “a pivotal year because these labels got big enough in the market stream that it started to financially hurt the reclaimers. And what seems to be the direction people are going is to put in this machinery that mechanically rips the label off because nothing else has been available.”

    Full-sleeve labels can fool optical sorting equipment into believing they are seeing colored resin. They also can mix with and contaminate clear PET grind at the bottom of separation tanks. And they can become mixed in with PET from lightweight water bottles because of their similar characteristics when recyclers use an elutriation process that uses air for sortation.

    Coca-Cola tested thousands of bottles in real-world conditions by attaching the new mixed polyolefin labels and pushing product through the supply chain “to make sure this new material would stand the test of time in real-world conditions,” Meyers said. “But we didn't just stop with our operations, we also took the bottles and sent them to a few different PET recycling plants and let them work on it.”

    With encouraging results, Coca-Cola decided to use the new shrink sleeve on its single-serve orb-shaped bottle available during the holiday season at Wal-Mart. Every one of those bottles has the new label.

    “Let's actually put it out on the marketplace for a couple of months,” Meyers said. “Let's see how it does. Let's see if the recyclers have any feedback. You can call it a real-world trial. And so our intent is, assuming things continue to go well, that we would convert as many of our product lines as possible into that new material.”

    Standish said that while his group is pleased Coca-Cola is first out of the door with the new material, there are other companies looking for solutions.

    “Certainly, other brands are working on the same pathway as Coca-Cola, just a little farther behind. And many label producers are offering labels that have characteristics that Coke is employing,” he said.

    “I believe that's a very valuable step forward,” he said about Coca-Cola. “The reality is they are only one of many brands that are putting full-sleeve labels in the market. So we'd like to see other brands take similar steps.”

    But, the technical director added, this will take time.

    “I think it's going to be a slow change. I think the ship is starting to make a turn. But I think it's still going to be a very, very long turn.”

    Meyers believes the technology can transfer to other companies. “I don't see any reason why this couldn't apply to other packaging that uses this technology.”

    “I think the message here is we want to innovate and we also want to find solutions that are recyclable,” he said.

    RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
    Swedish injection molder KB Components buys plants in Toronto, Dallas
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Plastics News would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor at [email protected]

    Most Popular
    1
    EPA orders Inhance to stop its HDPE barrier coatings, citing PFAS concerns
    2
    Material Insights: Big zero-emission PE project; why are PS and PVC prices falling?
    3
    What's next after ‘disappointing' plastics treaty talks?
    4
    Geon takes ‘key step forward' with PolymaxTPE acquisition
    5
    Resin Prices - North America
    SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Find more newsletters at plasticsnews.com/newsletters.

    You can unsubscribe at any time through links in these emails. For more information, see our Privacy Policy.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe today

    Subscribe to Plastics News

    Subscribe now
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram

    Plastics News covers the business of the global plastics industry. We report news, gather data and deliver timely information that provides our readers with a competitive advantage.

    Contact Us

    1155 Gratiot Avenue
    Detroit MI 48207-2997

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1723

    Resources
    • About
    • Staff
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Media Kit
    • Data Store
    • Digital Edition
    • Custom Content
    • People
    • Contact
    • Careers
    • Sitemap
    Related Crain Publications
    • Sustainable Plastics
    • Rubber News
    • Tire Business
    • Urethanes Technology
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Processor News
        • Injection Molding
        • Blow Molding
        • Film & Sheet
        • Pipe/Profile/Tubing
        • Rotomolding
        • Thermoforming
        • Recycling
      • Suppliers
        • Machinery
        • Materials
        • Molds/Tooling
        • Product news
        • Design
      • More News
        • K Show
        • Mergers & Acquisitions
        • Sustainability
        • Public Policy
        • Material Insights Videos
        • Numbers that Matter
      • Digital Edition
      • End Markets
        • Automotive
        • Packaging
        • Medical
        • Consumer Products
        • Construction
      • Special Reports
        • CFO of the Year
        • Notable Leaders in Sustainability
        • Processor of the Year
        • Best Places to Work
        • Women Breaking the Mold
        • Rising Stars
        • Diversity
        • Most Interesting Social Media Accounts in Plastics
      • Newsletters
      • Videos
      • Podcasts
    • Opinion
      • The Plastics Blog
      • Kickstart
      • One Good Resin
      • Pellets and Politics
      • All Things Data
      • Viewpoint
      • From Pillar to Post
      • Perspective
      • Mailbag
      • Fake Plastic Trees
    • Shop Floor
      • Blending
      • Compounding
      • Drying
      • Injection Molding
      • Purging
      • Robotics
      • Size Reduction
      • Structural Foam
      • Tooling
      • Training
    • Events
      • Plastics News Events
        • Plastics News Executive Forum
        • Injection Molding & Design Expo
        • Plastics Caps + Closures: A Global Online Event
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum
      • Industry Events
      • Injection Molding & Design Expo
      • Livestreams/Webinars
      • Editorial Livestreams
        • Bioplastics Live
        • Numbers that Matter Live
        • PFAS Live
        • Plastics in Politics Live
        • PN Live: Mergers and Acquisitions
        • Polymer Points Live
        • Sustainable Plastics Live
      • Ask the Expert
      • Plastics News Events Library
        • Plastics Caps & Closures Library
        • Plastics in Healthcare Library
        • Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum Library
    • Rankings & Data
      • Injection Molders
      • Blow Molders
      • Film Sheet
      • Thermoformers
      • Pipe Profile Tubing
      • Rotomolders
      • Mold/Toolmakers
      • LSR Processors
      • Recyclers
      • Compounders - List
      • Association - List
      • Plastic Lumber - List
      • All
    • Directory
    • Resin Prices
      • Resin Prices Overview
      • Commodity Thermoplastics
      • High Temperature Thermoplastics
      • Engineering Thermoplastics
      • Recycled Plastics
      • Thermosets
      • Europe - Virgin
      • Europe - Recycled
      • Europe - Feedstock
    • Custom
      • Sponsored Content
      • LS Mtron Sponsored Content
      • Conair Sponsored Content
      • KraussMaffei Sponsored Content
      • ENGEL Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • Sign up for Early Classified