K Special: Kautex joins forces with Braskem, Erema for closed plastic loop

Extrusion blow moulding machinery specialist Kautex Maschinenbau has partnered with Brazilian materials supplier Braskem and Austrian recycling machinery maker Erema for the upcoming K 2019 plastic trade fair in October, to advance the circularity of its plastics products.
 
Braskem will provide Kautex with its bioplastic ‘I’m green’ polyethylene and post-consumer recycled materials (PCR) for the live production of three-layer HDPE bottles featuring a foamed middle layer during the show.
 
The bottles, said Kautex in a pre-K release, have a “drastically reduced” CO2 footprint in comparison to conventional products.
 
After the production, instead of handing the bottles out to visitors and “producing waste”, the bottles will be handed over to Erema for recycling.
 
Kautex said it decided to process the Braskem material due to “better processability, less odour development and because they could offer their PCR and renewable material in a more sustainable way than conventional solutions.”
 
The Braskem raw materials used for the demo bottles are derived from sugarcane, and the PCR materials come from already recycled material.
 
Using Braskem technology, Kautex will save 5kg of CO2 for every kg of ‘I’m green polyethylene’ used.
 
In addition, the foam technology reduces material usage, optimising the company’s CO2 footprint.
 
To ‘fully close the loop’, Kautex has partnered with Erema, who will collect the bottles and recycle them at its Circonomic Centre to showcase “the true objective of the circular economy”.
 
Various types of plastic will be recycled on site live at the trade show by Erema.  In total more than 30 tonnes will be recycled during K-2019, including HDPE-bottles produced by Kautex.
 
“We regard the promotion of plastics recycling and working with our partners to optimise material cycles as an important responsibility of our company”, said managing partner Andreas Lichtenauer commenting on the partnership.
 
K 2019 will be held 16-23 Oct in Düsseldorf, Germany.