Dow has today announced the first large-scale commercial use of its AGILITY CE resin, made with 70% recycled plastic. Plastigaur, a film converter based in Spain, is using the resin in its collation shrink film, typically used in the transportation of cans or PET bottles.
The resin is based on low-density polyethylene (LDPE) into which post-consumer recycled (PCR) material from shrink film is incorporated without, Dow says, sacrificing material quality and functionality in the final application.
Initially introduced in late 2019, AGILITY CE is Dow’s first post-consumer recycled (PCR) product offering, and the company says that it now has PCR product offerings in all its operating regions.
Dow reports that the PCR content in the final shrink film developed by Plastigaur is 50%, which reportedly results in a carbon emissions reduction of 25%.
The company has also worked with Plastigaur to reduce the thickness of the film from 45 to 40 microns. By reducing the thickness while apparently maintaining the packaging functionality, Dow claims that the new solution enables an additional CO2 saving of 11%, while reducing overall environmental impact by 32%.
Agnieszka Godlewska, marketing manager for industrial and consumer packaging at Dow, comments: “By working in close partnership with Plastigaur, we’ve been able to accelerate our innovative PCR product offering, demonstrating a commercially viable solution that uses high-quality packaging made from recycled content.
“This is not a concept or a project anymore, this is reality. We’re excited to continue working with more partners across the value chain and pushing forward industry standards in post-consumer recycling offerings with the ultimate aim of reducing plastic waste and CO2 emissions.”
“We are very excited with the development of these new collation shrink films. They bring us, and the Brand Owners, closer to reaching our sustainability goals,” adds Luis Artola, managing director at Plastigaur.
“The integration of recycled materials can be a challenge, but the newest technologies and our experience in the industry enabled us to push the boundaries and we could not be prouder of the results.”
