R&D Initiatives & Partnerships
Recycling of PP for food-grade applications
The NEXTLOOPP initiative focuses on closing the loop of mechanically recycled food-grade polypropylene. The mechanical recycling of PP waste into high-quality rPP is an important step towards creating a sustainable circular economy. The circular economy can only be fully realized if plastics can be recycled back into food-grade applications. As this is not yet possible for mechanically recycled PP today, there is still work to be done here. We are convinced that NEXTLOOPP will make a unique and valuable contribution to closing the loop on food-grade PP. As part of this initiative, tray-to-tray and cup-to-cup recycling will be given a real opportunity for market introduction. We are proud to be a member of this initiative.
PrintCYC - successful recycling of printed plastic films
The PrintCYC (Printed PP films for mechanical recycling) project group is exploring ways to create circular economy solutions. The specific target of the first two project phases was to understand the impact of different ink formulations on the mechanical PP and PE recycling process. Furthermore, the re-usability of PP and PE recyclates (rPP / rPE) made from printed post-industrial film waste was evaluated in cast film, blown film, compression moulding and thermoforming technologies as well as the biaxial stretching process.
Members of this project are Kiefel, Brückner Maschinenbau and PackSys Global, the film producer Profol, the ink manufacturers Huber Group and Siegwerk, the converters Constantia Flexibles and Wipak as well as the recycling specialist Erema.
Holy Grail
In order to improve the sorting and consequently the recyclability of pla-stics, renowned brand owners, such as Procter & Gamble, have initiated the European “HolyGrail” project, in which Kiefel participates.
This involves using digital watermarks on packaging to obtain more material information, e.g. whether a material used to be food-safe. The printed or imprinted watermarks (largely invisible QR codes) are scanned and provide information about the material composition. More detailed sorting ensures a higher quality of recyclates and thus makes it easier to achieve recycling targets.
The Initiative Blue Competence
We are Alliance Member of the Sustainability Initiative Blue Competence. Blue Competence is an initiative of the VDMA for promoting and communication of sustainable solutions for the Mechanical Engineering Industry. By using the trademark “Blue Competence”, we commit ourselves to these twelve Sustainability Guidelines of the Mechanical Engineering Industry.
