Borealis has introduced a new grade of recycled linear low density polyethylene grade (rLLDPE) containing 85% post-consumer content.
The Austria-based polyolefin producer developed the new grade using its mechanical recycling technology Borcycle M.
The Borcycle M CWT120CL grade is tailored for blown film applications across primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging. Key applications include stretch film and stretch hood, and films for agricultural, industrial, and protective uses.
Incorporating such a high percentage of post-consumer content in flexible film marks a ‘significant technical achievement’, Borealis said in a statement. The company worked together with Ecoplast, an Austrian recycler it acquired in 2018, in a project that began in late 2022. It took the partners more than two years of work to overcome the complexities of incorporating a high proportion of recycled content while meeting the demanding performance standards required for flexible packaging.
The result is a material with high stretchability achieved through low gel content, as well as an excellent toughness-stiffness balance. Borealis is marketing the product as an ‘ideal solution’ to meet or exceed the requirements of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) without compromising performance. The regulation came into force on Feb. 11 and will apply from August 12, 2026.
"With its impressive 85% post-consumer recyclate content, this new rLLDPE grade represents a major step on the path to a circular economy for plastics," said Peter Voortmans, Borealis commercial director consumer products flexibles. “Borcycle M CWT120CL will help our customers meet their sustainability targets while maintaining the high-performance standards required for demanding flexible packaging applications - just one of the ways we’re re-inventing essentials for sustainable living.”
Borealis has recently ramp up investments in its mechanical recycling technology. It is building a recycled polyolefin compounding line in Beringen, Belgium, to transform mechanically recycled post-consumer waste into high-quality rigid PP and PE materials.
It has also recently acquired Integra Plastics AD, a Bulgarian plastics mechanical recycler specialised in polyolefins, and Rialti S.p.A., a PP compounder of recyclates based in Italy.
Samples based on Borcycle M CWT120CL will be presented at PRSE, taking place in Amsterdam between April 1-2, 2025. Visit Borealis at Stand K80, Hall 5.