Innovative recycling solutions used in the label industry

Immense amounts of PET bottles are used every day around the world. According to available sources of information, 16 thousand containers are manufactured every second. This results in alarming amounts of plastic, all of which would be deposited in landfill if PET waste treatment activities were not used on a large scale. Poland belongs to the group of countries engaged in combatting the plastic waste flooding us, one of the ways of doing it is by expanding recycling plants. These activities are just one of the areas experiencing rapid development in the present day. The second area is associated with using semi-finished products from alternative sources for production processes. Label companies, both suppliers and printing shops, are also implementing solutions in line with green ideology.

Aniflex is one of label printing companies offering environmentally friendly materials, which not only talks about improving the natural environment, but also takes an active part in the implementation of adequate solutions, offering labels on material manufactured from processed raw materials, or from raw materials produced with the use of renewable sources.

Among labels available on the market, there is a group for which a specially developed washable adhesive is used to facilitate the reuse or recycling of used bottles. This is related to the fact that in the recycling process, at the stage of washing packages in alkaline solution the label is completely washed off the surface of the container. In recent years a technology was developed which enables the removal of the adhesive at the temperature of just℃, co korzystnie wpływa na środowisko naturalne, ponieważ generuje mniejsze koszty procesu odzysku surowców wtórnych, a otrzymane w procesie rozdrabniania płatki PET charakteryzują się najwyższym poziomem czystości.

Labels made from renewable sources are among label materials with less environmental impact. An example of such labels is the polypropylene label manufactured with the use of wood-based materials. It is manufactured with the use of UPM Bio-Verno gasoline obtained in the process of pulp production. It should be pointed out that this label has the same properties as polypropylene labels.

When discussing the catalogue of environmentally friendly solutions it is important to mention labels available on the market in the SMALL ROLL service. With this type of labels it is possible to purchase less laminate, so they do not generate the costs of storage of unused labels. What is more, they do not freeze capital as in the case of purchasing a batch of material which will not be used for manufacture. Additionally, they reduce environmental pollution because they generate less production waste.

An unquestionable advantage for manufacturers who choose rPET containers and place environmentally friendly labels on them is the possibility to implement objectives adopted within the closed-loop economy. This contributes to gaining an advantage over competitors as a result of taking measures aimed at improving the natural environment. As a consequence, it may tip the scales for customers in their shopping decision-making process.