US labelling and packaging materials specialist Avery Dennison (Pasadena, California; www.averydennison.com) and recycling specialist Seliplast (Malmédy / Belgium; www.seliplast.com) have launched a recycling system for label matrix waste made of PP and PE. Avery Dennison’s global sustainability director, Xander van der Vlies, said: “We are excited to promote Seliplast’s label matrix waste recycling options to our customers.” The programme, which the companies claim is the first of its kind, is available to converters in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and France.

Avery Dennison said the system eliminates the need for waste material to be shipped outside the region for manual sorting and recycling, which had previously been required due to the sticky nature of the residue. The system was developed through a pilot project, established in 2014 by the two companies, under which more than 1,000 t of plastic laminate and matrix waste in Avery Dennison’s plant in Turnhout / Belgium was converted into new granulate for industrial and household products.

Christian Horn, MD of Seliplast noted that the filmic matrix and laminate waste must comply with certain quality standards to be accepted. “For recycling to be practical, the waste matrix material has to be collected separately, avoiding paper contamination.”