​Teamwork drives search for recyclable PE pouch

Chicago — Three plastics firms are working together to develop an all-polyethylene recyclable pouch.

Officials with Nova Chemicals Corp, Charter NEX Films and Plastic Packaging Technologies talked about their teamwork at Global Plastics Summit 2017, an industry event held Oct. 11-13 in Chicago.

Many multilayer pouches that use different resins are difficult to recycle.

"We heard the challenge from our customers and had to work on printing, sealing and processing," said Todd Becker, PE sales director with Calgary, Alberta-based Nova.

"It's important to get the properties that we need to protect shelf life for food," added Kathy Bolhous, CEO of film extruder Charter NEX Films of Milton, Wis.

Charter NEX is a supplier to PPT, a maker of pouches and other packaging. David Potter, PPT supply chain vice president, said that although pouches use far less material than other types of packaging, consumers "often don't see the benefit, because they can't put pouches into their recycling bin."

Charter began work on the project four years ago. One of the challenges has been producing an outer layer that has good heat resistance. High density PE also is challenging on clarity performance, but Potter said the firms "are making good progress" on that front.

Concerns over PE not having a glossy finish proved groundless, Becker said, when the firms found that consumers liked the matte finish of an all-PE pouch.

"It's good to have a three-way dialogue and get the right people together," he added.

"We need to use a collaborative method to avoid [pouches going into] landfills," said Bolhous, whose firm ranks as North America's 23rd largest film and sheet maker with estimated annual sales of almost $400 million, according to Plastics News data.

"By bringing the value chain together, we're able to understand what can be done with packaging," she added. "But for the product to be recycled, it needs to be a profit-making opportunity. It can't just be waste — it has to be viewed as a valuable commodity."