26 Companies Present R-Cycle at K 2022: Digital Product Passport Enables Circular Economy for Plastic Products

R-Cycle – the digital product passport for plastic products – enables all stakeholders in the value chain to easily exchange recycling-relevant information in an open standard format across company boundaries and make it accessible for various applications, such as improved waste sorting. A total of 26 leading companies and organizations will present R-Cycle at K 2022 as part of a joint booth in the Circular Economy Forum (OA 16 / CE 07).

Dr. Benedikt Brenken, Director R-Cycle, explains, “More and more leading companies along the entire value chain are relying on R-Cycle and benefiting from the added value of standardized data exchange along the life cycle of plastic products. At K 2022, we will be showing a wide variety of applications and product samples that have already been manufactured in high volumes and whose data can be accessed via automated digital product passports.”

Looking at today’s waste streams, recyclable products – especially plastic packaging – cannot be sorted with sufficient accuracy for high-quality recycling. With R-Cycle, production machines read and record relevant data in a digital product passport, route it through the value chain, and make it retrievable via appropriate marking (e.g., QR codes or digital watermarks) on semi-finished and final products. In this way, waste sorting lines can easily identify recyclable packaging and form recycling-friendly and single-variety fractions. This is the basis for obtaining high-quality recyclates and building a functioning circular economy.

In addition to improving product sustainability, manufacturers also increase their process efficiency and product quality by using the digital product passport. Accurate information about source materials accelerates and optimizes production, while capturing proprietary product characteristics adds value for customers in the downstream value chain.

“Data exchange is the key to an efficient circular economy,” Dr. Brenken adds. “The data is already available at the individual stations of the value chain. They just need to be transmitted, aggregated and made usable via an open standard. This is exactly what we offer with R-Cycle.”

R-Cycle was developed to market maturity by various technology companies and organizations along the entire lifecycle of plastic products and can be networked with all systems (e.g., PPS, ERP) and production facilities: from film, blow molding or injection molding machines to processing, packaging and filling machines to waste sorting and recycling lines. The traceability technology behind R-Cycle is based on GS1 standards – the leading global network for cross-industry process development and a founding member of R-Cycle.

R-Cycle is an interoperable infrastructure offered as software-as-a-service. In addition, an open community exists for interested companies, institutions or stakeholders who want to use, support or further develop R-Cycle. Members gain access to a broad network of application-experienced partners and know-how in digitalization and sustainability. The goal is to realize individual applications, generate benefits by networking the value chain and jointly establish R-Cycle worldwide. Interested companies can obtain all information about membership at: www.r-cycle.org/en/community

R-Cycle was awarded the prestigious “Sustainability Award” in the category “Driving the Circular Economy” in September 2022. The award was presented during this year’s “Sustainable Packaging Summit” in Lisbon. The event is the leading international forum for sustainable packaging.

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EFSA/FDA-Compliant Production Process Enables Manufacture of Food-Safe Film From PET Recyclate

Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating has developed a particularly efficient production process with which PET recyclate can be processed directly into food-safe film without a pre-drying process. The process meets the criteria of both the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). This was proven via a so-called challenge test.

If recycled goods come into direct contact with food, special certification by the EFSA or the FDA is required in advance in some markets. The production of films for such food packaging is correspondingly complex and demanding. Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating now facilitates the economical production of such films for flat film manufacturers with a simpler production process and provides advice on certification.

Mark Schuster, Product Manager PET Sheet at Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating, explains: “The market for recyclable food packaging made of PET already has a high volume. At the same time, the growth potentials are equally interesting considering the current global collection rates. We are now making it easier for customers to successfully participate in this market.”

The EFSA/FDA-compliant PET process uses a co-rotating twin-screw extruder and a specially developed high-performance vacuum system that enables producers to process PET recycling material directly, without pre-treatment and pre-drying – as is necessary with other processes. Processors thus save the investment in an additional line component and avoid additional energy and maintenance costs, which leads to significant savings, especially in times of rising energy prices. Fast material and product changes are also possible, for example between post-consumer PET bottle scrap (PCR), post-industrial PET production waste (PIR) and virgin PET. The end product, for example a meat tray, meets the highest hygiene standards and can be used safely in direct contact with foodstuffs in accordance with the criteria of the authorities.

Certification made easy: Consulting

Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating supports customers in the certification process with the relevant authorities. For this purpose, not only the cleaning process of the ground material, but also the quality monitoring of the input material and the production under the criteria defined by EFSA are considered.

EFSA audits made easy: automatic documentation

Another feature of the line is the automatic documentation of relevant production data. For EFSA audits, recipe- and product-related data of the certified process must be stored for several years. The specially developed ExtrusionOS Production Compliance software bundle helps to monitor and securely document production processes and compliance with EFSA-relevant thresholds in a data-based and real-time manner. A live dashboard transparently shows ongoing production and its thresholds, enabling fast action in case of irregularities. ExtrusionOS Production Compliance is based on Reifenhäuser’s connectivity solution ExtrusionOS Core & c.Hub Middleware, and can also be retrofitted to existing lines.

Recycling made easy: digital product passport

Via ExtrusionOS, production data can also be transferred to a digital product passport – for example, via the open R-Cycle standard. Digital product passports are data records clearly linked to primary and end products that contain relevant data on materials, ingredients and the use of the product. Via special markings, they can be used, among other things, for data-based and thus more precise waste sorting and recycling processes.

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Reifenhäuser Provides Trade Fair Visitors at K 2022 With Fully Recyclable FFP2 Masks Free of Charge

At K, the world’s largest plastics trade show, thousands of visitors come together to learn about the latest innovations – especially on sustainable plastics products. This year, visitors will already encounter one such innovation at the trade show entrance: fully recyclable and climate-friendly FFP2 masks. Reifenhäuser provides the masks for protection against respiratory infections to trade fair visitors free of charge at all entrances.

FFP2 masks have so far caused major problems when it comes to recycling: they are usually made of many different materials, for example functional layers of polypropylene and textile, nose clips made of metal, ear loops made of polyester. As a result, resources are lost to the circular economy, and the carbon footprint is devastating – especially due to the enormous increase in mask consumption caused by the Corona pandemic.

The mask for K 2022, on the other hand, consists of 99.7 percent polypropylene. It is therefore considered a mono-material product and is 100 percent recyclable. In concrete terms, this means that the nose clip is made of 100 percent polypropylene instead of wire. The same applies to the support layer, which is otherwise made of so-called Hot Air Cotton. The ear loops – usually made of PES (75 percent) and elastane (25 percent) – are 85 percent PP and 15 percent Cradle2Cradle certified elastane. The total elastane weight per mask is thus only 0.3 percent. The individual packaging for the FFP2 masks is also made of 100 percent PP and can be recycled together with the masks. The mask was produced by the Grabher Group, a specialist in technical textiles, using a Reifenhäuser meltblown line.

Reducing the carbon footprint
The sustainable FFP2 masks are not only fully recyclable, but also cause significantly less CO2 emissions during their production than conventional protective masks. The entire production process is designed to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible: the masks are manufactured entirely in the EU, avoiding long transport routes. CO2-neutral PP resins based on Borealis Bornewables, a renewable premium raw material that offers the same material performance as virgin polyolefin but is independent of fossil raw materials, are used for production. The nonwoven is produced with green power on energy-efficient Reifenhäuser line technology. Added up, a recyclable FFP2 mask thus has a CO2 footprint of only 8 grams of CO2 equivalents – that is one tenth of a conventional mask produced in Asia.

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