UPM Raflatac polyolefin film shown to increase shrink sleeve recycling rates

Shrink sleeves are one of the fastest growing label segments, with statistics from AWA indicating the market will record a compound annual growth rate of 5.5 percent to reach 12,750 million sq m in sales in 2018.  

RafShrink is a polyolefin-based roll-fed shrink film, and has high MDO shrinkage of 61 percent at 95 degrees C and haze at three percent, as well as offering high clarity and gloss, according to UPM Raflatac. The shrink film can be applied at high speeds, labeling more than 50,000 containers an hour. RafShrink PO MDO 40 HS meets the Critical Guidance by Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) and by European Plastic Bottle Platform (EPBP).

Plastics Forming Enterprises is an independent full service testing and R&D company serving the plastics, packaging, recycling and consumer products industries worldwide with a range of services.

The research study it conducted tested RafShrink PO against PETG labels, currently the industry-standard film label for shrink sleeve applications, on clear and colored PET bottles and other packaging materials. The results showed that RafShrink PO labels provided average detection rates of 92 percent versus 40 percent for PETG sleeve labels when tested at six near-infrared (NIR) equipment manufacturers. The study showed that clear PET bottles can be detected by NIR sorting equipment even when covered with a full-body PO-based shrink sleeve. Further, during the recycling process the polyolefin material ensures clean separation from clear PET bottles by floating to the top of the caustic washing solution, unlike PVC and PETG labels, which sink with PET bottle material.

UPM Raflatac said the results show that brand owners who use RafShrink PO MDO 40 HS can ‘significantly’ improve PET packaging recyclability rates, while ensuring that the recycled clear PET containers continue to provide the clarity and quality required for reuse on global food and beverage products.

‘RafShrink meets global manufacturers' exacting requirements for a lightweighted full-body shrink sleeve solution that delivers exceptional branding, productivity and sustainability,’ said Markus Kivelä, product manager for shrink sleeve films at UPM Raflatac.

Kivelä and Kristina Hansen, technical director at Plastics Forming Enterprises, presented the results of the full-body shrink sleeve label recycling study at APR’s 2016 Technical Forum in New Orleans, Louisiana.

L&L has previously asked if shrink sleeve growth will be stifled by recycling issues, while the final report of APR’s Sleeve Label Working Group has outlined recommendations the packaging industry can use to mitigate the impact of sleeve labels on the recycling of PET bottles.