Nextek and Austria-based packaging manufacturer Coveris are partnering to scale food-grade closed-loop polyolefin film recycling.
The partners are building a demonstration plant in the United Kingdom to implement Nextek’s COtooCLEAN technology at industrial scale.
The collaboration builds on Nextek's success in winning the 'Circular Solutions for Flexibles' award from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) in 2022. The award was granted in recognition of Nextek's innovative COtooCLEAN technology, which uses a unique waterless cleaning and decontamination process to produce food-grade recycled materials from post-consumer plastic film.
The Nextek team came up with a process to decontaminate plastic films back to food-grade quality. The process cleans, decontaminates and then converts post-consumer film waste into recyclate suitable for use in new films with recycled content for food contact applications. The cleaning process is based on Supercritical Carbon Dioxide (ScCO2), a non-toxic, non-flammable and non-corrosive solvent that can selectively remove contaminants through use of co-solvents. In a single step, the process allows for the simultaneous removal of oils, inks, adhesives, labels and chemical contamination from post-consumer polyolefin films, using an environment-friendly process that can easily recycle the non-toxic solvent and separate the residues.
The new plant will implement the COtooCLEAN technology at industrial scale, with extensive trials planned to collect the data needed to meet regulatory requirements, along with the opportunity to demonstrate the technology to industry. The ultimate goal is to make the process available globally, helping tackle one of the toughest recycling challenges: decontaminating PE and PP films.
“COtooCLEAN has the potential to transform plastic film recycling,” said Professor Edward Kosior, CEO and founder of Nextek. “Since winning the AEPW award, we’ve moved from prototype development to food-grade compliance trials. Partnering with Coveris is the next big step. Together, we’ll demonstrate this technology at scale and work toward a circular economy for plastic films.”
Coveris is also on a mission to develop food contact-compliant recycled materials. It launched launched ReCover in 2022, a business unit bundling all its waste sourcing, processing and recycling activities into one. It is an extension of Coveris’ ‘No Waste’ sustainability strategy, in which the company commits to fight waste in all its forms, including litter and landfill.
Coveris plans to expand its plastic recycling capacity significantly, aiming to process 50,000 tonnes by 2026 and 90,000 tonnes by 2030.
“We’re really a frontrunner in this topic and we are thrilled to collaborate with Nextek on this project – a breakthrough in food-grade mechanical recycling,” said Christian Kolarik, CEO of Coveris. “Sustainability is at the heart of Coveris' ‘No Waste’ strategy, and this partnership is another milestone in ending plastic waste. Together with our ReCover recycling entity and our collaboration with Interzero, we are taking bold steps towards turning waste back into a valuable resource.”
Find Coveris at PRSE: stand G116.