CCL Label, a world leader in specialty label, security and packaging solutions, announced another milestone regarding sustainable label material: CCL has received a letter of approval for the polyolefin shrink sleeve technology EcoFloat™ from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) in the United States.
In its recognition letter, APR stated: “We are pleased to recognize CCL Label’s Ecofloat™ printed polyolefin shrink sleeve on HDPE container as meeting or exceeding the most strict APR HDPE Critical Guidance criteria HDPE-CG-01 Critical Guidance Protocol for HDPE Rigid Containers. A Review Committee, appointed per the APR Recognition Operating Procedures, reviewed your data submission and concluded the data were correctly obtained by a qualified laboratory and were completely presented to show the shrink sleeves submitted meet or exceed the most challenging test conditions and strictest APR Critical Guidance criteria.”
“We see EcoFloat as the sustainable decoration solution of the future – for a whole range of packaging in the beverage, dairy, home care and other industries”, says Guenther Birkner, member of the management team at CCL Label. “So we are proud that this has been verified by receiving the recognition of APR with one of the world’s most widely accepted and comprehensive testing protocols that ensures new packaging products and innovations meet recycling guidelines and do not contaminate the recycling stream.”
As EcoFloat™ is a polyolefin film, the material is an ideal match for HDPE bottles and also PP cups as already certified by recycling organization Interseroh with their “Made for Recycling” label in Europe.
“Our investment is part of our commitment to boost plastic recycling by providing the right label solutions and take steps towards a circular economy as stated ever since we signed the Global Commitment of the New Plastics Economy led by the Ellen MacArthur foundation three years ago. In future there will be more and more regulations to set a target for the recycling rate in municipal waste, for example. Reaching these will not be feasible without investing in new technologies for packaging materials that support ‘Design for Recycling’. As a floatable, low density polyolefin film, EcoFloat fulfills the requirements for sleeves as defined in packaging design guidelines,” adds Birkner.