Essel Propack unveils recyclable tube packaging

This is a first of its kind breakthrough in the tube packaging market, essentially for brands looking to convert to sustainable barrier packaging formats which are recyclable.

According to Essel Propack’s business leadership team, “this will open the doors for many such innovations in the near future, and we will proactively reach out to every customer to convert to this packaging format and increase the economy of scale to make this an easy adapting solution for every brand. This will enable Essel Propack to globally participate with customers and help them to achieve their sustainability commitments.”

The R&D team based out of Essel’s focussed innovation facility in Maharashtra, worked extensively on several design and formulation options in developing recyclable HDPE barrier tubes. The unique and complex task to the team was to innovate on sustainable tubes without compromising any of the functional features of the tubes like feel, shelf life, safety and machinability requirements for the various generations of production lines.

After use, the Platina and GML tubes can be recycled in the dominant No 2 plastic stream used across the globe for recycling milk cans, juice bottles, etc. Use of HDPE in Platina and GML tubes increases the stiffness of the tubes, enabling down gauging/ reducing polymer content and in helping users to deliver on their sustainability commitments.

This innovation comes at a point where consumer product marketers are looking for sustainability solutions to meet their stakeholder commitments on reducing, recycling and reusing their packaging.

Following this development, Essel will be working closely with partners to streamline the value chain of the tube usages and disposal of the same along with the reusability of its contents in different product streams. The company will extensively promote this to partners, work with different municipalities and local agencies, and raw material users where the tube recycled resin qualifies to be out into different product raw material streams. One of such an initiative has been Project Liberty and Etain (PCR) tubes.

Essel Propack’s Project Liberty is a significant initiative to support environmental sustainability. With the vision to make every tube made by Essel recyclable, Project Liberty is a path-breaking attempt to recycle multilayer aluminium-based lamitubes. Using proprietary technology, Project Liberty allows for the separation of the aluminium and polymers into two distinct and reusable streams, without the use of any chemicals or heat. Once separated, both the aluminium and polymer fractions recovered from ABL tubes can be recycled safely.

Etain (PCR) tubes are made with up to 25% post-consumer recycled resin content, promoting the use of PCR resins, reducing the demand for virgin raw materials. With unanimous accord that various innovation must be done for encouragement of plastic recycling, corporates and various associations are taking big moves. With Essel Propack’s recyclable laminated tubes getting its recognition by APR, USA, has already achieved a step ahead and over the next few months it aims to focus its development and success with customers.