UPM Raflatac predicts threefold RafCycle growth in Italy

The RafCycle program collects self-adhesive label waste that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled and gives it a new life. In particular, the program offers the opportunity to recover siliconized glassine label liner and recycle it into new recycled paper in UPM’s papermaking process. Polypropylene and now even PET liners are also collected and recycled into new material as a cradle-to-cradle system, or used as raw material for new products.

UPM Raflatac’s lifecycle assessment (LCA) calculations have shown that RafCycle partner companies in Italy have so far avoided carbon dioxide equivalents by a combined 1.5 million kilograms.

UPM Raflatac recently celebrated the continued success of the RafCycle recycling concept in Italy during a gala dinner at Villa Foscarini Rossi in Venice. The RafCycle gala dinner was arranged by UPM Raflatac in cooperation with L.C.I., a supplier of recycled paper and board, and partly owned by UPM, and was attended by L.C.I. partner companies. This included some of the most important brands from the Italian wine industry, which UPM Raflatac said is one of the most sensitive to issues of recycling and sustainability in general, and is therefore among the leading adopters of RafCycle. The gala dinner provided an opportunity to award RafCycle partner certificates and discuss common sustainability topics and further possibilities for sustainable cooperation.

The event also played host to the launch of a product that sees recovered PET liner transformed into ice buckets through a collaboration between UPM Raflatac, L.C.I. and Brevetti Waf, which produces promotional items for the wine industry.

UPM Raflatac presented the 2015 RafCycle Award at Labelexpo Europe 2015, with Coveris named as the winner in honor of its work to improve the environmental performance of self-adhesive labeling.