Cologne, July 15th 2024. The partners Nestlé Germany, DUO PLAST and Der Grüne Punkt have jointly developed new stretch hoods made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which contain up to 20 percent recyclates from the Yellow Bag or Yellow Bin in the middle layer. This is the first time that post-consumer recyclates (PCR) from household collection have been used in such a sophisticated product.
Bernd Büsing, Corporate Packaging Lead Nestlé Deutschland AG: „Designing packaging sustainably, reducing the use of virgin plastic and closing material cycles is at the heart of our sustainability strategy. The use of recycled plastics in our packaging is an important measure for implementing this strategy. Of course, this also applies to transport packaging such as stretch hoods, which are essential for protecting our products during transportation. If we succeed in using recyclates from the Yellow Bag in this application as well without compromising product protection, we will have achieved an important step and we are delighted that our partners are joining us on this journey.“
Dr. Sven Bernhard, COO DUO PLAST: „Stretch hoods are an important and demanding application in the transport packaging of pallets. At DUO PLAST, we have already integrated post-consumer recyclates into our products, but not yet from household collection. Thanks to the cooperation with our project partners, we have now achieved great progress. This brings us an important step closer to the circular economy for plastics and strengthens our innovation leadership in this area.“
Jörg Deppmeyer, Managing Director Der Grüne Punkt: „Film waste from the Yellow Bag and Yellow Bin is still predominantly recycled into low-grade products or used directly for energy production, that means it gets incinerated. We are changing this with our Systalen® LDPE 3.0, which is used in various film products and now also in stretch hoods for transport protection, a particularly demanding product. I am extremely grateful to our partners Nestlé and DUO PLAST for having the entrepreneurial courage to embark on this project, which is indispensable for the circular economy of plastics - and in particular for achieving the future quotas for recyclates usage required by the upcoming PPWR.“
Stretch hoods are used to secure transport pallets loaded with products in order to protect them from external influences. High demands are placed on the film, as it must not tear or form holes during the process, it must fit well around edges and corners and form a good bond with the pallet base - and, of course, the film must be transparent and must not pose a risk to the packaged products.
Caption: Stretch hood from Duo Plast with 20 % Systalen® LDPE 3.0 during the test at the Maggi plant in Singen (Image: Der Grüne Punkt).