Avery Dennison Glass Labeling Technology Boosts Recycling Yields

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Avery Dennison Glass RecyclingAvery Dennison has introduced a labeling technology that allows clear separation of self-adhesive labels from glass pieces thus facilitating clean glass recycling.

For single-use bottles, recyclable glass can be contaminated with unwanted label material — with up to 74 percent of the label material continuing through the recycling stream. Additionally, for every metric ton of glass fragments, up to 40kg can end up in landfill if not cleanly separated from the label material.

Compared to existing self-adhesive solutions, Avery Dennison Glass Recycling can enable the reduction of glass going to landfill to 1.5kg per metric ton (versus 40kg), and it can limit label fragment contamination to 2 percent of label material (versus up to 74 percent), the company says.

The removal of self-adhesive labels from one-way glass bottles can be a challenge during the glass recycling process, impacting both the quality and availability of recycled material. Avery Dennison Glass Recycling materials use a self-adhesive technology that helps to solve these challenges while maintaining shelf appeal, the company says.

Post-consumer recycling is a key element of sustainable packaging, says Vladimir Tyulpin, business development and product manager at Avery Dennison Materials Group Europe. Thus, using packaging that can be recycled can help businesses improve their brand reputation and differentiate them from the competition.

Avery Dennison Glass Recycling materials use a unique “switchable” adhesive, which is engineered to facilitate easy label removal from the glass bottle surface in the glass recycling stream. This adhesive “switches off” during the glass bottle recycling process, to facilitate clean separation of the label from the glass. Transitioning to the new labeling material is easy for converters and brand owners as it does not require investment in new equipment or changes to existing processes, the company says.

Earlier this year Avery Dennison and Belgian-based Seliplast AG launched what they say is a first-of-its-kind recycling option for label matrix waste made of polypropylene and polyethylene.

Environment + Energy Leader