US-based Dow Chemical Company has developed new recyclable stand-up pouches using the RecycleReady technology.
Made with Retain polymer modifiers, the stand-up pouch features barrier film that can be recycled in a polyethylene recycling stream.
The Retain compatibilizer, when combined with other polyethylene resins, provides a recyclable solution with improved barrier characteristics.
Although the new recyclable flexible pouches comprise multiple layers, it uses only polyethylene as the basic raw material.
The RecycleReady technology has been launched recently and is developed in partnership Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and other companies.
The technology is designed to allow converters create barrier pouches to meet consumer demand for more recyclable packaging options.
Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics North America packaging solutions director Stacy Fields said: "Working together with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) and our value chain collaborators was crucial to achieving our breakthrough RecycleReady Technology, which incorporates Retain polymer modifiers, a key enabler for the recyclability of the packages."
The RecycleReady is intended to divert packaging waste from landfill or incineration, increase post-consumer recycling yields and help to create a circular economy for plastics packaging.
It has been approved by the SPC's How2Recycle program to use the store drop-off label in North America.
Sustainable Packaging Coalition project manager Kelly Cramer said: "This technology is a breakthrough in packaging design for recyclability.
"It possesses the properties of a multi-layer pouch, but behaves like a pure polyethylene bag in the recycling stream."
