US packaging giant Berry Global (Evansville, Indiana; www.berryglobal.com) has opened a centre of excellence at its plastics recycling facility in Heanor, UK, to enhance evaluation of the recyclate used in its Sustane polymers.

The facility analyses the composition of incoming scrap material, resulting in a higher quality of recyclate used in making second-life products and providing extra reassurance for customers seeking to meet the requirements of the upcoming UK Plastics Tax. The UK tax enters into force on 1 April 2022 and imposes a levy of GBP 200/t (EUR 238/t) on all plastic packaging that does not contain a minimum of 30% recycled material (see Plasteurope.com of 16.03.2021).

“This new investment in our recycling laboratory facilities helps to ensure the consistency and quality of our Sustane grades, giving our customers the confidence that the performance of their packaging will not be compromised in any way by the inclusion of recycled material. This is particularly essential for packaging used in heavy-duty applications such as collation shrink film and collection sacks,” said technical director Jagan Mohanraj.

The opening of the centre follows Berry Heanor previously gaining EUCertPlast (www.eucertplast.eu) accreditation, demonstrating that it follows best practices throughout the recycling process and also establishing a chain of custody for the waste material sourced. EUCertPlast works to European Standard EN 15343:2007, which specifies the procedures needed for tracing recycled plastics along the supply chain.