Innovia Films, a material science pioneer and major producer of BOPP films, has announced the launch of an extension to its range of sustainable films, that have been marketed under the Encore brand name.
The portfolio, a response to the growing demand for films with recycled content, not only ensures compliance with upcoming PPWR regulations within the EU but also offers a range of benefits. The new additions, including mechanically and advanced recycled content for BOPP films and a Prevented Ocean Plastics option, are designed to drive circularity and promote a more sustainable future for the packaging industry.
“One big cornerstone of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) is the integration of a certain percentage of recycled post-consumer content into plastic packaging. This regulation will have a huge impact on how brands are going to design their packaging. The motivation for this regulation is to reduce the per capita quantity of packaging,” says Simon Huber, Managing Director Innovia Europe.
“Flexible packaging, being lightweight and highly resource efficient, can help reduce the total amount of packaging being used and has a much lower CO₂ footprint regarding transportation than many rigid alternatives. Innovia is working with the whole value chain in initiatives like CEFLEX (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) to increase the recycling of this flexible packaging back into film. The inclusion of recycled content in new films is top of the list for much of the industry – moving from a linear to a more circular system,” explains Steve Langstaff, Head of Recycling at Innovia Films.
More recycled content options for converters and brand owners
The extension to the Encore range of sustainable BOPP films includes the use of chemically recycled polymer for food contact applications and the addition of mechanically recycled PCR for non-food. Innovia is also working closely with Prevented Ocean Plastic and has developed a film with 30% POP material. Importantly, in all cases, the key functionality of the BOPP remains intact and the quality is comparable to virgin grade materials, providing reassurance to converters and brand owners.
The environmental credentials of the films can be improved further by reducing the quantity of fossil-based virgin materials and replacing them with bio-based polypropylene. This reduces the films’ carbon footprint further and again with no detrimental effect on film properties.
For further information on Innovia’s range click here