The collaboration between US packaging and dispensing systems manufacturer AptarGroup and PureCycle Technologies, Inc., entered into in September 2019, has made good progress, Aptar reports.
The companies are working on the development of hinged closures for food, beverage, and cosmetics applications made with PureCycle’s Ultra-Pure Recycled (UPR) plastic. To that end, Aptar has partnered with PureCycle as its preferred technology partner among converters of UPR, conducting rigorous prototype testing of UPR in dispensing solution applications over the past two years.
Developed and licensed by major consumer goods group Procter & Gamble, PureCycle’s patented recycling process separates colour, odour and other contaminants from plastics waste and transforms it into high-quality recycled resin.
Aptar has now successfully produced hinged closures with performances similar to conventionally-produced polyproylene in different colours from prototype material from the PureCycle feedstock evaluation unit. That unit, completed in July 2019 is the testing production line developed to test and optimise the efficiency and throughput of the recycling process. A critical component for testing feedstock for polypropylene content, it is basically a smaller-scale replica of the Phase II Facility, which is scheduled to complete construction in the fourth quarter of 2022. That plant, located in Ohio, will have a capacity of 50,000 tons a year, while the recycler also recently broke ground on a new site in Georgia, where a 300,000 ton/per annum facility is planned.
Aptar will have access to UPR from the initial Ohio site, as well as UPR from future PureCycle facilities worldwide.
Aptar sees partnerships as the way forward toward a more circular economy and believes the packaging industry must move beyond the “make, use, dispose” behaviours of the past. The collaboration with PureCycle underlines its commitment to a sustainable material sourcing strategy with a focus on reducing the quantity of plastic needed, using recycled materials, partnering with recyclers, and developing reuse models.
The company has set ambitious targets for 2025, including the use of more recycled content in product offerings and ensuring all dispensing solutions for the beauty, personal care, home care, food, and beverage markets are 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable by that date.