Henkel’s Beauty Care business unit has achieved zero label liner waste at its Wassertrüdingen facility in Germany, as a result of UPM Raflatac’s RafCycle recycling concept.
UPM Raflatac said that the Beauty Care business used RafCycle recycling concept to recycle more than 400t of siliconized glassine label liner waste, thus reducing its label liner waste to zero.
Henkel official Greg Douglas said: "The partnership with UPM Raflatac reflects our belief that sustainability is inseparably linked to innovation and efficiency.
“In our workshop with UPM Raflatac, our Henkel Laundry experts were able to develop additional ideas, setting the path for further improvements, especially in the field of new sustainable label design."
The RafCycle recycling concept is aimed at creating new materials by reusing pressure sensitive label waste.
UPM said that the label release liner from Henkel is collected and recycled at the UPM Plattling paper mill in Germany to produce a new graphic printing paper for books and magazines.
UPM Raflatac RafCycle solutions director Juha Virmavirta said: "Henkel has a wide-ranging role in the labeling value chain - both as a raw material supplier and as a label end-user. This makes Henkel an important partner for us, and the RafCycle program is a vital element of our cooperation.”
The RafCycle concept involves collection of paper release liner which is then repulped, de-siliconized, and returned into pulp and paper in UPM’s papermaking process.
In addition to reducing landfill waste, RafCycle is said to promote the efficient use of natural resources while reducing environmental impact of label production.
