SCGC recently partnered up with ten other Ellen MacArthur Foundation members from across the plastic value chain to research and test circular solutions to stretch wrap. The results from the collaboration have now been published in a white paper showing that recycling is an important solution to make sure stretch wrap don`t end up as waste.
Stretch wrap is most commonly used technology to secure loads to pallets so that products can be transported safely. It performs well and is cost effective, the film has a low carbon footprint but it is also generally discarded after use, with only 21 percent recycled in the US and 30 percent in Europe. To reduce the environmental impact from the wrap, businesses are encouraged to work across the value chain to drastically reduce the reliance on the linear plastic packaging model and transition to circular and regenerative approaches.
The Project
SCGC, one of the largest integrated petrochemical companies in Asia and a key industry leader, is both a consumer and raw material producer of pallet wraps. Stretch wrap qualities to protect and stabilize goods during transport highly valued as it is both a lightweight and efficient solution and not easily replaced. It is therefore essential that we find solutions that maintain the high quality properties while making sure we reuse the resources.
Striving to be at the forefront in circularity, we have placed our great efforts in innovating chemical solutions that design out waste and pollution from the beginning, extend the life cycle of products and materials and regenerate natural systems. As part of that commitment, SCGC decided to collaborate with ten leading companies from Ellen MacArthur Foundation network representing the entire plastic supply chain, including Microsoft, BASF, Berry Global, CHEP, Cisco, Mainetti, Flex, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc and WSP. The results from the collaborative project have been published in a recent white paper.
The Paper
This white paper details the pilots and findings of this collaboration, the “Stretch Wrap Alternative Project” (SWAP). Three working groups —reuse, recycling and composting— were formed to identify circular solutions for linear stretch wrap and SCGC opted for recycling. We explored the potential for pallet stretch wrap to be recycled back into pallet stretch wrap, seeking ambitiously circular solutions to a closed loop recycling model for stretch wrap to optimize the material use at end-of-life.
As an active member of the recycling working group, we helped to design a pilot to test if post-consumer stretch film could be cleaned to a level that would allow it to be recycled back into stretch film (or other high-value applications), enabling a closed loop model. Through the pilot, we wished to identify: 1) The most prevalent contaminants and those that are most difficult to remove; 2) How material could be cleaned to a level that would allow it to be used as stretch wrap in both mechanical and hand applications, and 3) The processes that could be used to improve the quality of recycled stretch wrap.
“Stretch wrap is used all over the world to secure loads through transportation. It is cleaner than most plastic packaging after use, and it comes in large quantities, but still, we see that most end up as waste. When Microsoft initiated this project, we saw a fantastic opportunity for SCGC to team up with great partners to work together to solve the challenge of making sure stretch wrap materials could be reused. Combining SCGC polymer and recycling knowledge with partners from other parts of the value chain gave us the opportunity identify and test solutions that can work for the whole value chain at once, said Tine Rorvik, Global Director Circular Economy at SCGC.”
The recycling pilot found that stretch wrap recycling can be recycled back to a diversity of applications including new films. However, to achieve the highest quality films there is still a need to improve the recycling process. There are many opportunities to increase recycling, whether with open or closed loop models should be targeted to improve processing technology and increase the demand for infrastructure.
As for technical feasibility, the recycling pilot indicates that gels were evident in all samples produced with PCR content, primarily from paper labels and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) contamination. The transit test indicated the wrap with 25% PCR and 25% PIR content had a comparable performance to the wrap made entirely of virgin material. This suggests film with some level of recycled content is suitable for use as pallet wrap.
To allow closed loop stretch wrap recycling to become a fully scaled solution, development and improvement in the material wash process, as well as a more standardized composition of the material is needed. The limited collection, consolidation, and reprocessing infrastructure for film in different parts of the globe offers another challenge, which could be eased through increased demand and investment.
Compared against machine-applied virgin material, the recycled material performs less well, as the benefit of lower material use through machine application outweighs the benefits of the recycled material. This emphasizes the environmental opportunity which would arise once recycled content could be used in machine-applied stretch wrap.
The economics of stretch film recycling, and the use of recycled content stretch film is highly dependent on the process involved, including transport from the point of origin to the recycling facility, the cost of cleaning and sorting, and the transport costs to the manufacturing site. This overall cost needs to be compared to the price of virgin material, which is highly dependent on the raw material price for virgin polymers. With anticipated increased demand for PCR material in the coming years, there is a good opportunity to increase the supply of recycled content material through increased recycling efforts.
For recycling of stretch wrap to be more successful, different parts of the value chain need to be proactively engaged to improve recycling outcomes and the application of high-value PCR content use. SCGC will continue to explore where we can apply learnings from the pilots to either move management practices up the waste hierarchy or towards a more circular economy. Click here to download the white paper or visit Ellen Macarthur Foundation at https://bit.ly/38D3PZl
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