CCL develops EcoFloat shrink sleeve material

EcoFloat has been developed to enable the packaging industry to meet recycling targets and to support sustainability and complements the range of sustainable products such as EcoStream and EcoSolve for pressure sensitive labels.

‘After shredding the PET bottles, the shrink sleeve parts are completely separated from the bottle flakes during the recycling process,’ said Norbert Fenkart, head of research and development at CCL Label. ‘As the PET bottle flakes sink to the bottom and the shrink sleeve pieces float on top, the two materials can then be separated into different streams on to their next life. Especially for the PET bottle this enables circularity in the bottle-to-bottle recycling process.’

The new material has been approved by EPBP, a voluntary industry initiative that provides PET bottle design guidelines for recycling and evaluates bottle packaging technologies. Based on the assessment, EPBP concluded that CCL polyolefin film EcoFloat will not have a negative impact on current European PET recycling.

‘Meeting the EPBP standards was very important to us at CCL as those reflect the performance of our material under real-life conditions and is regarded as the important certificate for our customers,’ added Fenkart. ‘EcoFloat is designed to meet economic and environmental sustainability goals while enhancing the look and feel of the product with maximum cost-efficiency.’

EcoFloat sleeves were also rated ‘Very Good’ by Polish environmental services provider Interseroh‘s and recognized with its Made for Recycling standard. Certificates are available for full-body sleeves on PET bottles, HDPE bottles and PP Cups with more varieties being  currently tested.

‘We have developed a holistic plan at CCL that goes beyond conservation and aims to deliver value,’ explained Günther Birkner, president, food and beverage at CCL Label. ‘We are investing in resource-saving technologies and waste-reducing processes at our facilities worldwide. By focusing on engineering with more efficient manufacturing, we can offer our customers the best solutions to meet their sustainable packaging needs – one great example being our latest development EcoFloat.’