Skanem turns waste liner paper into hand towels

Self-adhesive label backing paper, which becomes waste once labels are affixed to products, is being turned into paper hand towels in India. The trailblazing project is the culmination of co-operation between Skanem, one of Europe’s largest self-adhesive label producers and American-based Maratech, part of the Channeled Resources Group, and promises a viable method of environmentally friendly disposal of waste for the label-making industry.

Skanem’s multinational sales director David Harrisson said: ‘All self-adhesive labels have to be carried on a silicone-coated backing paper, or liner, which is discarded when the label is applied. The question of what to do with the resulting waste has taxed the brains of the industry.

‘As a group, we have been very concerned over finding a solution and, as an initial experiment, teamed up with Maratech to find ways of recycling the liner.

‘Calvin Frost, a committed ecologist and founder and chief executive of Channeled Resources, was keen to join us in this scheme by acting as the facilitator for the recycling.

‘The waste paper is collected, put in containers and shipped to India where it is pulped and turned into the sort of paper towels you find in dispensers in hotel or aircraft toilets. It is an ideal solution to a major problem.’

Mr Frost sees the project as a win-win solution to a European problem. ‘For some reason European recyclers have been loath to handle self-adhesive label liners because of the silicone. They have the same machinery and processes as we have in the US where we have no problems in pulping this waste. The silicone is stripped off the paper and disposed of with the normal liquid waste – it is not toxic – and then the paper pulp is recycled in the normal way.

‘The mathematics of the costs for doing this add up and produce a small profit which makes the operation worthwhile.’

Mr Harrisson added: ‘We believe that this co-operation is unique in our industry but it shows that with commitment, suppliers, customers and recyclers can work together and create a solution that is beneficial to the planet. Until now this waste has been thought of by some as a problem – now we have shown it can be a
benefit.’