On April 17, 2024, Siegwerk revealed its collaboration with Borouge, a prominent provider of innovative polyolefins solutions, to jointly create fully recyclable mono-material solutions. This partnership aims to advance packaging design in support of a circular economy. The objective is to establish a range of solutions that empower converters globally to manufacture cutting-edge mono-material packaging, meeting the increasing need for sustainable packaging solutions in the industry.

"Dr. Stephane Bertaux, who oversees Brand Owner Collaboration and Circular Economy for Southeast Asia at Siegwerk Thailand, explains, "Flexible packaging predominantly consists of mixed materials, presenting difficulties for traditional recycling methods. Adopting mono-material packaging is vital to streamline packaging recycling processes, ultimately enhancing circularity."

However, transitioning to mono-material configurations presents various hurdles, including the need to ensure dependable sealability, specific mechanical attributes, thermal stability, and achieving requisite levels of barrier performance tailored to each end-use scenario. "By leveraging Borouge's high-performance polyethylene products in conjunction with innovative ink and coating technologies, we can realize the desired packaging outcomes," explains Anton Wolfsberger, Vice President of Global Marketing, Packaging, and Circular Economy at Borouge Pte Ltd. " This industry-wide collaborative approach plays a pivotal role in addressing global sustainability and circularity challenges. Mechanical recycling enables upcycling, yielding high-quality recyclates that further enhance circularity and diminish the carbon footprint compared to the prevalent multi-material packaging, which is predominantly incinerated."

One of the initial collaborative projects between the two entities involves the development of a barrier stand-up pouch. This pouch will utilize Borealis Borstar® technology-enhanced HDPE FB5600 from Borouge and Siegwerk's oxygen barrier coating CIRKIT OxyBar BC1582, along with its primer solution CIRKIT Clearprime. "Through the integration of our specialized deinking and delamination primer into this innovative mono-material structure, boasting superior performance and mechanical attributes, all utilized inks and coatings can be removed from the printed film during the recycling process," explains Bertaux. "This results in high-quality recycled polyethylene suitable for reuse in new packaging materials."

Furthermore, Siegwerk and Borouge have initiated partnerships with chosen converters across the globe to offer solutions for manufacturing high-barrier mono-material packaging. These solutions combine oxygen barrier coatings (with an Oxygen Transmission Rate, OTR, of < 1 cc/m2.day) and moisture vapor barrier coatings (with a Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate, MVTR, of < 1 cc/m2.day).

Both partners are dedicated to advancing sustainable and forward-thinking packaging solutions by facilitating the transition to mono-material structures, which can supplant the challenging-to-recycle multi-material packaging prevalent today. Borouge already boasts a broad spectrum of virgin polyolefins, including polyethylene and polypropylene, engineered specifically with recyclability in mind. Meanwhile, Siegwerk offers an array of innovative ink and coating solutions designed to enhance the recyclability of plastic packaging without compromising performance or productivity. By combining their expertise, the two companies underscore once again the significance of collaborative efforts across the packaging supply chain to develop viable solutions that truly drive progress toward a Circular Economy.