Formerra, Invista unite to offer post-consumer PP

Orlando, Fla. — In the six years between NPE2018 and NPE2024, the plastics industry changed profoundly.

Supply chain issues over the past couple of years have led to a significant shift in sourcing and production strategies. Technological advancements and digitalization have boosted efficiency. New legislation and the intensified focus on sustainability coupled with the transition toward a circular economy have accelerated demand for more environmentally friendly materials.

And, of course, the six years intervening between shows meant there were more new faces among exhibitors and attendees at NPE2024 in Orlando.

That doesn't quite apply to performance materials distributor Formerra. While most certainly a new name in the market, Formerra — formerly Avient Distribution and before that PolyOne — has been active in the distribution space for some 24 years.

"People know who we are," Mike Ellison, director of supply at Formerra, told Sustainable Plastics, a sister publication of Plastics News. "It's just the name change, and it's gone very well. People have accepted it."

SP spoke with Ellison and a number of others from both Formerra and Invista during a joint NPE interview.

Chemical and polymer producer Invista, a longstanding Formerra supplier, recently developed three new post-consumer polypropylene grades for packaging applications, previously only available in trial quantities, but now commercially available.

The new grades combine a PP recycling stream with a PP virgin stream in a compounding operation. One of the three new grades is 30 percent post-consumer (PCR) random copolymer PP with a 35 melt flow rate, giving it less stiffness and a higher impact strength than homopolymer, with good clarity and natural color.

"We're focusing on PCR because we have our on-site compounding facilities," said Pierre Donaldson, the director of new business development for Invista's polypropylene business. "So, it's a good fit for us. We have looked at other options, such as bio-based, but we haven't found a solution yet. We're back integrated and make our own propylene from propane. The limited availability and the cost of bio-based propane, which we have looked into, make it a nonstarter for our customers, at least for now."

The new PP blends have been formulated for different processing technologies, from injection molding to thermoforming and blow molding, he explained.

"Among the products on show here at NPE are bottles and thermoformed cups made from our new PCR blended product that is produced at our site in Longview, Texas. We are making these materials available to customers at our plant. And we're also open to doing additional customization, if requested," he said.

Food-grade material will be available in the future. Invista and its supplier are still working through the FDA's Letter of No Objection (LNO) process, which involves submitting a description of the waste source and the recycling process, plus results of tests that prove the process removes potential contaminants and a proposal of use conditions in the final application, such as temperature, type of food and duration of the contact.

For Invista, going through the process makes good sense because the majority of customers that have sampled the material want the FDA LNO, Donaldson said.

Invista's new recycled-content products fit seamlessly with Formerra's enhanced focus on sustainability — a change that has accompanied the new name, said Mike Balasko, Formerra's director of sustainability and business development.

The past years have seen a shift in attitudes toward sustainability and sustainable materials. Formerra has responded by widening the scope of its portfolio, although these new Invista grades are by no means the first sustainable products in that portfolio.

Since changing its name, the distributor has added new business development for high-performance or "peak of the pyramid" materials, and it has picked up a number of new suppliers, including PHA producer Danimer Scientific and PureCycle Technologies, which converts polypropylene plastic waste into recycled resin using a patented process.

The difference is that sustainable solutions in the past tended to be post-industrial, recycled-content materials, typically black.

"They were more cost-driven as opposed to sustainability-driven. Sustainability was just an add-on," Balasko noted.

Balasko continued: "Today, sustainable products have gone from being nice to have as part of the portfolio to a must-have part of the product portfolio — essentials in order to be able to meet customer needs particularly in the packaging market. Post-consumer recycled content materials are definitely a part of that. And we're seeing a growing demand from the marketplace and growing technical developments from our suppliers, such as Invista."

Even in these difficult times for recyclers and recycled resin producers, recycled resins have been facing fierce competition from the low prices of virgin materials. And the new grades also come at a premium.

"Demand comes and goes as the economy comes and goes, right? But in general, the trend has been that there is more interest from customers, again, from a demand standpoint and more interest from suppliers in providing more sustainable solutions," Balasko said.

He went on to say that there were three different components to the current growth.

"First comes brand owner sustainability goals. Large brand owners for manufacturers want more sustainable solutions in packaging, so they're having their sustainability goals target that.

"In the second place are the industry mandates, such as in the U.S. Plastics Pact, where the packaging industry as a whole is trying to drive more sustainable packaging.

"Third is the legislation component: An increasing number of states are considering or introducing greater extended producer responsibility bills, in addition to demands for mandatory recycled-content targets for plastics packaging such as beverage bottles," Balasko said.

The collaboration between Invista and Formerra goes back many years, to their mutual benefit. Originally, the relationship focused on virgin materials, but it has now extended into sustainable grades as the drive toward higher-value sustainable materials continues to gain momentum.

Today, these include — for Formerra, at least — materials with post-consumer content and possibly an FDA LNO, natural-colored instead of black, bio-based materials, compostable and biodegradable materials.

"Formerra has certainly been [the] leading edge in terms of looking for sustainable solutions," Donaldson said. "It's why we value our relationship in developing these products. And as a distributor, they can hopefully reach a lot more customers in the market with these products."

Formerra has a feel for the packaging market from a sustainability standpoint, Balasko agreed, and that can also help to bring a sustainable packaging point of view to Invista — an essential, in view of the change in market mindset.

Today, people want sustainability, whereas before it was more cost-driven and involved the use of post-industrial waste, Balasko said.

"We're seeing a shift from what I'll call sustainability by chance to sustainability by choice. The feedback we're hearing from our customers is that they want more of these types of materials," he said. "As Formerra, we're working with our supply base — suppliers like Invista, who understand this — to meet this demand."

Invista

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Formerra

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