Axion Consulting Report Remarkable Improvement in Recyclability of Flexible Packaging

Over the past few years, remarkable improvement has been made by Axion consulting in the field of flexible packaging.

REFLEX is a leading project in the same domain.

As reported by Axion Consulting, a reputed resource recovery specialist, the main objective of this project is to improve the re cyclability of flexible packaging.

Currently, the organisation is handling a collaborative research and development project that involves high profile international brands.

Axion is not the only concern, associated with the REFLEX project. They are working with many partners including Dow Chemical Company Ltd, Amcor Ltd, Nestlé UK Ltd, Interflex Group, TOMRA Sorting Ltd, Unilever UK Central Resources Ltd and SITA Holdings UK Ltd.

Most likely, it will take around two years to get the project completed. This project has been co-financed by Innovate UK, which is one of the leading innovation agencies of the country.

What does Axion Consulting flexible packaging research involve?
As of now, the research work has explored and assessed probable options that can be used as alternatives to the multi-layer films that were not quite easily recyclable. As reported by Axion Consulting, they are now focusing on the multi-layer packaging structures that make use of incompatible polymers.

They have redesigned these packaging structures with polymers which can be recycled.

At a seminar, Plastics Recycling Expo held in June, Richard McKinlay, the project engineer of Axion Consulting, gave a presentation about designing flexible packaging films that can be sorted for recycling. During this presentation, he highlighted the recent breakthroughs from the project.

Quite interestingly, these have drawn a lot of interest from different corners of the globe, including Europe. Many packaging suppliers, non-governmental organisations and brand owners have showed a lot of interest in the project.

The project is considered to be all the more successful since this also includes the optimisation of Near Infra-red (NIR) rotary sealing technologies that will help detect and then separate the mixed polyolefin (PP and PE) packaging.

These include bread bags, crisp packets and sweet wrappers. This has broadened the scope of flexible packaging. As far as polyolefin packaging is concerned, they would be able to do it extensively from landfill.

Axion Consulting Collaborates in Horizon 2020
One of the projects funded by European Union is the Plasticircle, looking into ways to optimise the collection, transport, sorting and recycling of plastic packaging. Plasticircle comprises 20 organisations, including Axion Consulting.

The aim is to turn this waste into sustainable new products. The project ran for four years and ended in May 2021. So far, the team has reported some major progress. They have developed a sorting system that can separate different types of plastic packaging.

They have also created a new type of recycled plastic that can produce bottles and food containers. The team is now working on developing a recycling system that can recycle mixed plastic waste. They hope that this research work continues after this project ends

Additionally, several non-packaging applications can use recycled polymers from waste plastic packaging, according to a recent Axion research.

PlastiCircle was established in order to find new ways to recycle and reuse plastic packaging, which is a major source of pollution. The project has so far been successful in developing a number of new applications for recycled plastics, including roofing materials, insulation, and construction panels.

In addition, the project has also produced a detailed study on the potential for recycled plastics to be used in 3D printing. With its wide range of potential uses, recycled plastic could play a key role in reducing the amount of waste that is produced each year.

Plasticircle Research Benefits After It Ended
Polyethylene terephthalate, better known as PET, is a strong and lightweight plastic that is most commonly used in food and beverage packaging. However, it also has some non-packaging applications, such as the construction industry. The best option is to recycle PET back into food packaging, despite the fact that it is less frequently utilised in these applications.

Thermoformed trays made of non-bottle PET are not frequently recycled, and a lot of this material is used for energy recovery. However, recycling PET into food packaging helps to close the loop and keeps this material out of landfills. Therefore, it is a crucial step in lowering pollution and waste.

There has never been a more pressing need to recycle plastic garbage as the world depends more and more on plastic packaging. However, certain types of plastic are more difficult to recycle than others.

One example is polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tray material, which is often used in food packaging. Due to its brittle nature, this material cannot be recycled into bottles, and would be a challenge to use back in food trays. Additionally, because clear PET is more in demand than colored PET, colored PET suffers extra market restrictions.

As a result, recycling PET tray material can be quite difficult. However, there are ways to increase the demand for this tray material. One, develop more end markets for the recycled material. Another way is by working within projects similar to PlastiCircle.

For more news related to packaging recycling visit www.axiongroup.co.uk