SABIC and Scientix to Develop Sustainable Flexible Packaging
SABIC and Scientex have agreed to work together to make the first flexible food packaging in the world out of advanced recycled OBP and SABIC-certified circular polypropylene (PP). In Malaysia, the material is being pilot-tested in premium noodle brand packaging.
“We are proud to offer our customers circular solutions to reduce plastic waste that could otherwise end up in our rivers and oceans,” says Abdullah Al Otaibi, general manager, Engineering Thermoplastic and Market Solutions Business Unit for Petrochemicals at SABIC. "This flexible food packaging with OBP is part of our TRUCIRCLE programme, which is a set of circular solutions that are meant to help protect our planet."
OBP is abandoned plastic waste found in areas up to 50 km inland from waterways that may eventually be washed into the ocean by rainfall, rivers, or tides.
“Thanks to this highly efficient collaboration with SABIC, we can bring the world’s first advanced recycled flexible PP food packaging to the Asian market, using circular OBP,” states Paul Ng Kok Leong, head of BOPP Film Division, Scientex Group. “This successful initiative demonstrates the feasibility of tackling the plastic waste issue through dedicated value chain collaborations and sets a milestone in shaping a circular plastics economy in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia.”
In an advanced recycling process, the OBP used in the project is recovered and converted to pyrolysis oil. This oil is used by SABIC as an alternative feedstock to make certified circular PP polymer, which is then processed into BOPP film. Scientex then produces and prints the noodle packs based on this film. From collecting the OBP to packing it up at the end, the whole chain is certified according to well-known certification systems.
With a mass balance accounting OBP content of 30%, SABIC's certified circular PP works the same as fossil-based virgin PP and can be used as a direct drop-in replacement in this flexible food packaging application without making any changes to its existing assets or processes.
SABIC's certified circular polymers are part of the company's TRUCIRCLE portfolio of circular solutions and services. Design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified renewable polymers from bio-based feedstock, and closed loop programmes to recycle plastic back into high-quality applications and help prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste are all part of the offering.
Source: L & NW
