Berry Global has been granted a Letter of No Objection (LNO) from the US Food & Drug Administration for the post-consumer recycled polypropylene produced through its proprietary recycling process.
Berry has developed a mechanical recycling process dubbed CleanStream that, the company says, is the first closed-loop system to mechanically process domestically recovered household waste PP back into food-grade packaging.
The LNO confirms that the post-consumer recycled (PCR) PP produced by the CleanStream process can be used in levels up to 100% recycled content for food contact applications. The PP has been extensively tested with good results across a range of products and processes.
CleanStream differentiates itself from other technologies by its capability to identify and separate food use items from mixed domestic collections. Moreover, it can operate within existing waste management infrastructures. Automated sorting and decontamination processes that integrate online sensor technologies and machine learning algorithms remove the need for the use of marker or other digital technologies.
“The target markets for this material are all contact sensitive applications, in particular cosmetics and personal care as well as food contact,” said Mark Roberts, Circular Value Chain Director at Berry Global Consumer Packaging International.
“Following the successful granting of the US FDA LNO, we will now be pursuing EU approvals for the material for food packaging applications.”
According to Berry, the process also delivers further environmental benefits. A life cycle analysis conducted by LCA specialists Quantis has demonstrated that the process generates 35% lower CO2 emissions than virgin PP production, and packaging made with the material will have a 20% lower impact. In addition, the replacement of virgin PP will reduce the CO2 impact of plastics packaging by 13,104 tonnes of CO2 per annum.
The PCR-PP will be produced at Berry’s £17 million purpose-built facility in Leamington Spa, which is due to go on stream later this year. The recyclate will be exclusively available for use in Berry manufactured packaging solutions, such as the recently launched B Circular Range Beauty Collection.