• Dow, W&H and B&B unveil next generation of recyclable packaging at K 2022 fair.
• New wide-format MDO-PE pouch with final web width of 2x1260 mm designed for recyclability without compromising on quality, efficiency nor performance.
• Printed at 400 meters per minute. Final validation on commercial packaging line with 80 bags per minute.
Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics, a business unit of Dow (NYSE: DOW), and leading machine manufacturers W&H and B&B, announce today the launch of their joint innovation in recyclable plastic packaging at the K 2022 fair, the world's leading trade fair for plastics processing in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Through new technology, resin and machinery innovation the collaboration successfully led to the development of this recyclable wide-format MDO-PE bag. Using only polyethylene (PE) and a minimal layer of EVOH ensures recyclability while delivering the same performance and properties of multi-material packages combined with outstanding gloss, transparency and haptics.
Reshaping the future of pet food packaging
For years, the focus of the packaging industry has been on efficiently producing packaging materials that enhance consumer experience and reduce waste. The challenge for recyclable pet food packaging in particular, has been finding technologies that maintain the efficiency of the packaging’s production and its final qualities while relying only on one material, so as to enable recycling in the polyethylene stream.
“Unlocking packaging recyclability is a challenge that no one company can do alone,” said Romain Cazenave, Packaging EMEA Marketing Director, Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics. “Using Dow’s ELITE™, INNATE™ and AFFINITY™ high-performance resins and sealants in combination with our partners’ state-of-the-art machinery technologies and know-how, has enabled us to realize the next generation of recyclable packaging to foster higher recycling rates and enable the circular economy of plastics.”
The large pet food bags are made with MDO-PE film using only polyethylene in each structural layer with the exception of a thin layer of EVOH for the barrier, in line with recycling guidelines. Using high-quality resin and the latest extrusion technology of the W&H VAREX II machine with inline MDO, the film has a final web width of 2x1260 mm and is optimized to reduce material wastage during production.
“On our wider VAREX II extrusion line with inline MDO, we produce MDO-PE film optimised for the following production processes. Thanks to perfect flatness and excellent film quality even with this wide film format, our HELIOSTAR II rotogravure press prints at very high speeds of 400 m/min. To put it in a nutshell: Two-ups for doubled efficiency.” said Dr. Lennart Ederleh, Technical Sales Director at W&H.
Through Dow’s Pack Studios, lamination was enabled at industrial scale before sending the films to bagmaking at the exceptionally smooth pouch-making process with B&B’s side gusseted bag machine SFB, producing 80 bags per minute, which is comparable to multi-material PET/PE structures.