New In-Mold Labels Enhance Recycling of PP Containers

A new type of PP in-mold label from MCC Verstraete of Belgium (U.S. office in Batavia, Ohio) is designed for complete separation of the labels from injection molded PP containers during mechanical recycling. The result is to preserve the white color or transparency of the container material to enable recycling into food-grade rPP suitable for new containers.

Today, the monomaterial structure of a PP container with a PP label allows for mechanical recycling of the two without separation for production of new nonfood rPP products such as pails. However, the inks in the label will influence the final color of the rPP, a factor which is often disguised by mixing PP containers of different base colors together for mechanical recycling.

With the release of NextCycle IML labels, MCC Verstraete claims to have found a balance between strong enough adhesion of the label to the container to satisfy the supply chain, and weak enough adhesion to release the label from the container automatically during grinding, regardless of the package shape or PP grade used in the container. After grinding and washing, the lighter, thinner flakes of the ground labels are said to be separated from the heavier, thicker flakes of the ground containers via standard air elutriation systems used by many recyclers (in some cases, right after the grinding stage). According to MCC Verstraete, a single air-elutriation stage is sufficient for separating label and container flakes.

What’s more, non-bleeding inks used in NextCycle IML labels will not contaminate the wash water, according to the company. The result is a pure white or transparent rPP fraction for reuse with “zero material losses,” MCC Verstraete says.

NextCycle IML will be officially launched at October’s K 2022 show in Düsseldorf, and a couple of partners will be running the labels in live demonstrations at their booths.