Flexible Packaging for Circular Economy | R&D Interview

Bostik's R&D experts team up with academic researchers to develop concrete solutions responding to the important environmental concerns that our society faces today. In this interview, Marc Defoin, Global R&D Director Lamination for Bostik and Professor Kim Ragaert discuss about different topics around Circularity for plastic packaging, focusing on mechanical recycling but also talking about chemical recycling. Both ways can be complementary and each one has its own specificities and challenges. Both require good quality input materials to be viable and efficient. Therefore, Design for Recycling is key.

Interview Kim Ragaert & Marc Defoin:

Innovation for Sustainability and Circularity is about R&D and Science

R&D plays a critical role in the transition to a Circular Economy for packaging. Innovation for sustainability and circularity is not only about developing new technologies. It is also about using materials science, research and data to take product development decisions that will enable the design of more sustainable packaging.

Bostik takes very seriously its responsibility of developing and offering adhesives that will allow high quality recycling with no compromise concerning safety, performance and processability. By developing new technologies and processes that enable the reuse of materials and the prevention of waste, R&D is at the heart of making Circular Economy for packaging a reality.

You need to understand the impacts of polymers, adhesives, inks, or other materials. How do they interact with one another during the sorting process, during the extrusion process, and during the subsequent full-blown production of the new product ?

Kim Ragaert - Professor of Circular Plastics - Maastricht University

Bostik Joining Forces with Academic Plastic Recycling Expertise

With a clear ambition of being global leaders in sustainable adhesives, Bostik is joining R&D forces with the academic plastic recycling expertise represented by the well-known Professor Kim Ragaert, Chair of Circular Plastics at Maastricht University.

Bostik and Professor Ragaert's team are working together to accelerate the development of fast-to-market bonding solutions for high quality packaging recycling. This collaboration has already proven to be very effective and successful.

I am convinced that the shared expertise we have in polymers and adhesives, as well as our experience, is the best way to offer something that is not yet available on the market.

Marc Defoin - Flexible Lamination R&D Director - Bostik

A Change in Packaging Design Needed to Increase Recycling Around the World

The importance of promoting high quality recycling leading to high quality recycled plastics is twofold. First, it ensures that the recycled material will satisfy the fast growing demand for high quality PCR plastics, to be reused in new packaging. Second, it helps to close the loop on plastic waste, by creating an economic viable market for recycled plastic that would otherwise be landfilled or incinerated.

Bostik's SF10M lamination adhesive, formally approved by Recyclass for PE mono-material packaging and proven performing also for PP based ones, paves the way for this new generation of adhesives that will enable high quality recycling and high quality PCR plastics, certainly highly necessary and demanded moving forward.

Bostik SF10M

We worked on identifying the key formulating levers that significantly minimize the impact of the laminating adhesive in the recycling quality, and as a result, we developed the SF10M which obtained the full approval from Recyclass.