There is little doubt where we are heading: multilayer packaging will have to become easier to recycle – but what does that mean for the technology? And what solutions will the market need and accept? Manufacturers of branded goods are not the only ones who will have to rethink their specifications.

How Film Packaging Will Have to Develop

Verpackungsmaterial

Logistik

Klotz, Karlhorst, Dr.

Verpackungsanlagen

Coilhandling

Recycling

Umweltmanagement

Flachfolienanlagen

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Maschinen und Komponenten

Extrusionsanlagen

Nachhaltigkeit

Kunststoff-Verpackungsmaschine

Sondermaschinen

Folien

Halbzeuge und Zwischenprodukte

Kunststoff-Halbzeuge

Kunststoff-Recycling

Kunststoffverarbeitung: Verfahren

Kunststoff-Aufbereitung

Europe Needs to Catch up

The increasing volume of plastic waste and the growing pollution of the oceans by such waste have brought the sustainable handling of plastic products into the focus of society and politics. Both recycling and bioplastics can be a part of a strategy for greater sustainability, but they are not free of side effects. In order to avoid irrational decisions, it is important to assess their effects comprehensively.

3D View of Sustainability

Blasfolienextrusion

Flachfolien- und Plattenextrusion

Extrusion

Folienblasanlagen

Kreislaufwirtschaft

Why Recycled Films Are Not Necessarily Sustainable

Renouncement is the trend that determines public perception of plastics today. Many consumers prefer products that are better for the environment, which is often equated to using less plastics. It is true, though, that plastics are important materials when it comes to finding answers to the challenges posed by the increase in population, high energy demand as well as growing urbanization and mobility.

Guest Commentary by Dr. Michael Zobel

Kunststoffe

Photonik

Optik

Leichtbau

Kunststoff Werkstoffe

Kunststoff

Bauwesen

Baustoffe

Kunststoffhandel

Dienstleistungen

Handel

Werkstoff

The Answer to Many Questions

PET bottles can be recycled into new food packaging. Large-scale recovery systems and recycling procedures have become established since many years. PET bottles made of 100 % post-consumer recyclate are already available in the market, and a version made of renewable raw materials also exists. No other packaging plastic can show such a positive balance. Nonetheless, PET is under criticism.

Prime Material for a Circular Economy

Polyethylenterephthalat

Thermoplaste

Technische Kunststoffe

Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)

Lightweight construction, functionality and design are characteristic of material development in all areas of application for PC compounds, composites and films. The range of materials has enormous opportunities when it comes to the mobility of the future, lightweight structural construction with continuous fiber-reinforced composites, 5G technology and medical technology.

Polycarbonate (PC)

Automotive

Elektronik

Medizintechnik

Polycarbonat

Medizinprodukte

Present in a Multitude of Trends

Even more than with foodstuffs, what matters in most cases with drug packaging is the contents protected by the wrapping. These are not good conditions to pursue a cycle concept for packaging. But times are changing – perhaps.

Steps to More Sustainable Packaging in the Medical and Cosmetics Industries

No Chance for the Cycle Concept?

The Danish company Plastix recycles old fishing nets and ropes. The granules produced are used by JSP International, among others, to manufacture expanded polypropylene (EPP).

Expanded Polypropylene from Maritime Plastic Waste

Schaumstoffe und Vorprodukte

Schaumstoffe

Standardkunststoffe

Polypropylen-Compound

Polypropylen

Kunststoff-Rezyklat

From Fishing Net to Particle Foam

Because of its good temperature resistance, impact resistance and aesthetics appearance, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene is often used in household goods and in the automotive industry. The development of a circular economy also shows successes.

Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS)

Polystyrol

ABS / ASA-Kunststoffe

Sustainable Growth

Plastics processors have a wide range of colors at their disposal to color their products. Choosing the right color can ultimately be the key to success. But colors are just as subject to trends as materials and designs. Kunststoffe asked manufacturers of pigments, masterbatches, and colorants which colors would be particularly popular in the coming year.

Trend Report on the Coloration of Plastics

Pigmente

Additive

Pigmente, bunt

Masterbatches

Farbstoffe und Pigmente

Streifinger, Florian

Farbkonzentrate (Batches)

Farbstoffe

Effektpigmente

Farben, flüssig

What Will Be the Color of 2021?

Plastic waste in the sea has been shaping the negative image of the industry for several years. Various initiatives and mergers of companies have therefore launched projects to tackle this Ocean-bound Plastics (OBP). Components made of OBP could become a symbol for a sustainable use of plastics.

Flame Retardant for Compounds Based on Recycled Ocean-Bound Plastics

Polybutylenterephthalat

Flammschutzmittel

From the Sea to Electronics

Plastics are among the materials most widely used for food contact applications. While there is pressure to use recycled plastics in packaging in order to combat plastic waste, certain conditions must be met before food packaging can be considered safe.

Plastics Recycling for Direct Food Contact and Alternative Applications

Verpackungsmittel aus Kunststoffen

Kunststoffverarbeitung

Food Safe Post Consumer Recyclate

Polymer materials, including synthetic polymers, have a bad reputation. These image problems do not just arise from the current environmental debate but also have earlier origins. In the past, too, polymer materials were subject to unjustified criticism. This often stemmed from non-scientists and frequently betrayed a lack of scientific knowledge.

On the Image of Plastics and their Responsible Use

Polymer Materials

The beneficial processing and service properties of plastics are increasingly determining the ecological fate of the world. The plastics industry has now realized that it is not enough to put the blame on consumer behavior. As K 2019 showed, numerous initiatives and technical developments are paving the way for the urgently needed establishment of a circular economy.

A Stock-Take of K 2019: The Plastics Sector Has Owned up to Its Responsibility

Wiederaufbereitung

Ressourcenmanagement

Produktion

The Dawning of the Circular Economy

Currently, recyclates are in high demand, including the automotive industry. Previously, component suppliers had reservations about using recyclates in safety-related areas, because mechanical properties varied too widely. Now, materials producer JSP has developed an expanded polypropylene with 25 % recyclate content precisely for these application areas. But to ensure high quality, close cooperation with the recycling company is essential.

Circular Economy for Expanded Polypropylene (EPP)

Automotive Components  Made of Packaging

By means of high-performance processes, chemical recycling converts plastic waste into high-grade material for new plastic products. Moreover, freedom of design results by selecting a suitable process and the matching waste material. Hereby, the right combination permits customized polyols to be created for the desired application area.

Solvolysis Using Different Solvents in Practice

Polyurethan-Schaumstoffe (PUR)

Polyurethan

Plastic Waste into  Custom-Made Polyols

Current Challenges and Options for Action in the Plastics Industry

For almost two decades, an expert committee, meeting once a year, has supported Kunststoffe magazine in determining the state of play in the plastics industry and identifying current technical developments. This time, the traditional spring meeting gave it an opportunity to debate the consequences of the Corona virus.

There were a lot of things different at this 18th session of the Kunststoffe editorial advisory board. It is not only that Dr. Rüdiger Baunemann, who had supported us for a decade as advisor, was not able to take part any more (see Box p.12), but also that, in this time of Corona, the meeting had to be held by video conferencing for the first time (Title figure).

Kunststoffe: First the crisis in the automotive industry and the worsening image of plastics, now the Corona crisis as well. How is the plastics industry faring?

Michael Weigelt (TecPart): Suppliers to the automotive industry are in a very dire position, not least because automotive manufacturers have closed down their production without warning, and so far have not given any precise information about how things will continue. As a result, many processors no longer knew how they were supposed to plan and manufacture. The suppliers currently face huge difficulties in adapting their material planning to actual customer demand and their own manufacturing. It still remains unresolved whether the material supply will remain secure, or a situation like that ten years ago will arise, when the polyamide plants and crackers were shut down.

Dr. Guiscard Glück (BASF): The Lehmann crisis, which led to the collapse of entire supply chains, taught many companies a lesson. Suppliers who at that time couldn’t supply their customers when the conveyor belts started up again are now taking great care to be well prepared for any event. However, this sensitivity stands and falls with the extent of the crisis. If it lasts for several months, it could lead to the failure of particular stages in the supply chains and to domino effects, and ultimately to a scenario that we can hardly imagine at present.

Will the supply chains now become more regional as a reaction to global problems?

Dr. Glück: The supply chains were also in a critical state after Fukushima, and companies tried to develop alternatives. However, these considerations were pretty quickly dropped, since companies are always looking for the optimized process chain. Globalization has contributed so much to optimization that I would be very cautious in predicting whether the current crisis will lead to greater regionalization, since that could mean additional costs. The entire economic system will rather try to find a way back to the optimized globalized mode. There will certainly be attempts at regionalization, but since that comes at a price, I am skeptical whether it will be tenable in the long term.

Just a few minutes before the beginning of the meeting with our publisher advisory committee, on April 21, 2020, the news reached us of the unexpected death of Dr. Rüdiger Baunemann. He was Managing Director of the association of the plastics-producing industry from 2002 and, from 2011, General Director of PlasticsEurope Deutschland, as the association was renamed, and in this capacity, member of our publisher’s advisory committee. He was also a sought-after press spokesperson for the emerging issues of plastic waste and marine littering. He will also be remembered for his commitment to national and international standardization work: he was appointed Chairman of the sponsor group of the DIN standards committee plastics (FNK) in 1997 and, in 2003, Chairman of the FNK; in 2016 he received the DIN Ehrennadel (pin of honor).

After all, the automotive industry was already ailing before Corona, and was then hit again. Are there also winners in the plastics industry, such as the medtech sector?

Dr. Glück: I wouldn’t talk of winners. Even companies that are showing a strong peak in demand now and are expected to provide capacities are experiencing a difficult situation. And it can be expected that sooner or later they will have to deal with reduced demand. That is a very difficult balancing act – such demand peaks are certainly very welcome in the short term, but are difficult to manage and usually not sustainable.

Prof. Dr. Christian Hopmann (IKV): Even in the medical field, though some protective products, for example, are in very great demand, there is suddenly only very low demand for many other products, as the admission rate to hospitals has fallen drastically, since many less urgent operations have been postponed. So we can’t speak of a boom in medical technology in general.

Martin Würtele (KraussMaffei): That is also the feedback we have received from our customers, such as in Switzerland in the area of high-speed injection-molding machines – basic instruments and disposable diagnostic articles, for example, are still selling well, but fewer medical articles are being consumed at present, since fewer people are going to their doctor or into hospital.

Dr. Achim P. Eggert (VDI): Hospital utilization is low throughout Germany, since beds are being reserved for Corona patients, and fewer operations are therefore being performed, so that many medical products are no longer in demand in the usual quantities.

What does the packaging sector look like? Can it profit from the fact that people are more conscious of hygiene, i. e. currently appreciate packaging more and the advantage of disposable products in medical applications is becoming clear?

Dr. Glück: What will be sustainable is the discussion we were having before about the circular economy. Here, we will continue to set standards in recycling and top quality recyclates with chemical recycling. The positive image of plastics in the context of protective clothing will not roll back the discussion about the carbon footprint, but I can imagine the two complementing one another.

Weigelt: Yes, we are now discussing in many areas how we can introduce more recyclates into the supply chain, which criteria could be used to standardize them, etc. The Corona crisis, by dominating the current news, could perhaps help us to continue this work in peace, so that we will be able to present advances when there is an interest in environmental issues again. But those who have argued against plastics in the past – not only NGOs, but also companies offering competing materials, which are under pressure from the success of plastics – will fuel the debate again even after Corona. It is now up to us to show in which direction the next steps must be taken.

Prof. Hopmann: Plastics recycling will remain a burning issue in the coming years. We are aware that, due to the Corona epidemic, plastics are in great demand, because consumers are increasingly welcoming disposable packaging, but I have not noticed from the public media that plastics are therefore presented more advantageously than just a few months ago. The somewhat more positive or less critical publications will very quickly fade away again. We will be left with the discussion about sustainability. Whether, and how, the appraisal will change here is closely linked with the question of whether and how the industry is capable of plausibly offering transparent and independently verifiable solutions. The Corona crisis can certainly give us a few months’ breathing space, but no more than that.

Weigelt: But what does “a few months” mean? Politicians are very cautious in withdrawing the restrictions – the question will be how long we can continue along this road. But as long as this issue is simmering, everyone will enthusiastically buy packaged foods and goods because they want to protect people. It will certainly push back the “withdrawal effect” of avoiding plastics.

Würtele: My hope is that the Corona crisis will make the differentiation more precise, and that plastics in general will not be demonized, but the insight will grow that plastics can be very useful. I already believe that the Corona crisis will contribute to people seeing plastics as valuable materials and a wider popular approval emerging. But that will not spare us the discussion about marine litter – and that is good, since it must remain an issue. The challenge of coming years and decades will thus be to establish these circular streams.

Eggert: The main problem we have with plastics wastes is a logistical one. There is a great need to catch up. In Germany, we have good collection systems in principle, but abroad, no one can trace the paths, and that is something we have to solve together with the politicians.

Weigelt: The crucial thing is how sustainably we dispose of plastics. Our problem is that plastic wastes are lightweight, float and that there are too many obscure issues in disposal. And that is used against us. I support a complete ban on plastics exports with exceptions for companies that dispose of the material in a certified way. However, within Germany, we are very well placed in plastics recycling. Unfortunately a backdoor was opened for waste management with the help of the German Federal Environment Ministry, since plastics wastes are counted as recycled if they are exported for recycling – no matter what actually happens to them. And the fact that most of them disappear in dubious ways in remote countries is less a failing of the plastics industry than, first and foremost, of those who are paid for this, namely the waste management sector. As an industry, we have to curb this and find a solution in our own country for about a million tons per year of often heavily contaminated plastics. We have to work to ensure that energy recycling is also possible even if it is often unjustifiably frowned upon, because in principle the material could be repelletized – even though that makes neither environmental nor economic sense with these waste categories.

To return to the Corona situation – what would you advise as companies?

Dr.-Ing. Erwin Bürkle (ThiM): The situation is very difficult regarding the procedures and financing, but we must make use of the breathing space for new developments, especially as regards digitalization. In recent years, we have strongly advanced productivity, but placed less value on innovation. Because of the growing competition from the USA and Asia, we have to develop products in this country that will still earn us revenue in the future.

Weigelt: To ramp up the economy, we will have more time available than we would like. It’s exacerbated by the fact that it will not be a V-shaped recovery as ten years ago, since not only one branch of industry is affected but the entire economy on a scale that hardly anyone has seen before. Many small companies in the hospitality sector or trade-show services will simply no longer exist anymore. Consequently there will be a shortage of money in the economy and also among consumers, which will mean a huge drop in purchasing power in this year and the next. As for catch-up effects in the field of consumer or investment goods, I don’t see any signs of that yet. Most companies therefore don’t have the money for innovations at present.

Prof. Hopmann: The dilemma is that you either have no time for innovations because business is going so well, or no money because business is not going well. We have to find a way out of this quandary. It goes without saying that the challenges companies face are huge, but nevertheless they not only have to focus on the ramp-up in the coming months but also prepare for the time after that. And I agree completely with Mr. Bürkle – the topic of innovation has fallen by the wayside in the recent, predominantly very very good years. If we lose even more time due to the crisis, there is a very high risk we will fall behind.

Dr. Bürkle: Paving the way for innovation will require a very delicate balancing act. But, here in Europe, we must concentrate on innovations. Since in the long term, that is our chance of survival.

Würtele: However, in some companies it will be increasingly difficult to implement innovations, since companies have to keep hold of their money. That is quite clearly a question of priorities. If we are arguing that innovations are important in the long term, half a year is neither here nor there at the moment.

Weigelt: Where would the fields of innovation lie? The typically German navel-gazing often reaches the conclusion that we are not really very good. At present, for example, we have 4800 effective patents on autonomous driving, 2000 of them, i. e. almost half, come from German companies. It’s undeniable that it would sometimes be desirable to be faster in addressing this or that issue. But here, too, there is global competition, which allows innovative companies to achieve higher margins, though they are permanently on trial, and by far no longer in such a comfortable position as they used to be. The big sellers today are digital products, which our industry doesn’t manufacture.

Prof. Hopmann: Autonomous driving is a good example, since there are many patents about this in Germany, though these are not innovations yet, but inventions at best. Innovation means building them into a business – and often that does not take place in Germany. We have very good ideas and develop them, but are often too slow to realize them on the market. The issue of digitalization illustrates this perfectly. There is a lot that can be digitalized, the potential is there for the asking.

The Kunststoffe advisory committee member Dr. Marco Wacker is responsible for the field of head protection at uvex Arbeitsschutz GmbH, Fürth, Germany, and was not able to take part in the round table discussions. We therefore spoke to him on the phone afterwards.

Kunststoffe: Mr. Wacker, you are going through turbulent times at present. How long has this been the case?

It started in December with the bushfires in Australia, which had impacted the distribution of respirators for firefighting. After that, the crisis started. We had already been aware of it in January as we have our own factory in China for sales of safety products in the Chinese market, and quickly realized what was happening. Demand has now been picking up in Europe, too. Although we predominantly supply industrial customers, we have suddenly experienced a huge demand from the public sector, hospitals and other medical institutions, which we weren’t prepared for.

How do you respond to sudden surges in demand?

We manufacture the goggles here in Fürth, and had to increase the capacity by working overtime, including on Sundays, and even that isn’t enough at the moment. That is to say, we are restructuring the work yet again after a few weeks. Shortly we will have significantly increased our capacity again within about four months. The expansion itself would be OK, but we have to manage it all under difficult circumstances – some employees are working from their home office, and shouldn’t meet in person if possible, etc. It is thus not only a question of expanding capacities, but at the same time protecting against viral infection, and keeping operational.

How quickly can you obtain additional tools or production lines?

In this respect, the automotive crisis is playing into our hands. Tool and plant manufacturers currently have free capacities. Injection-molding machines can be delivered almost immediately. It is more difficult to free up space in our buildings, and to adapt our own infrastructure. We therefore have many external companies on the company grounds. Nevertheless, we have to ensure that the virus is not introduced, since it would be fatal if we had to completely shut down a shift.

At first, we distributed simple injection molding orders to affiliated companies and outsourced orders to our factory in China. But now we also work with 7 x 3 shifts per week in Fürth, so Sundays as well, and that is not possible without temporary staff, and we are also looking for cooperations. Under these stressful circumstances, I’m trying to motivate people by telling them that in other companies, people are worried about their jobs, but despite that, with such a heavy workload, even working on holidays, the employees sooner or later become burnt out.

Indeed, many companies have free capacity, while your company is inundated with demand.

We have to make a distinction. Uvex is mainly known in the sports sector, which has not only suffered from the extremely mild winter, but of course from the faltering demand due to the Corona restrictions. There is short-time working here in the non-operational area and, even in our industrial safety area, demand is much lower, e. g., for protective clothing and shoes, which we supply to the automotive industry – where there is also short-time working. But everything worn on the head – respirators, visors and goggles – as well as disposable suits and disposable gloves – is in huge demand.

Do you see yourselves as winners in the crisis?

I would say it is ambivalent, we will have to see the figures at the end of the business year. If we have a global recession, then, despite appearing positive at first, it will not have turned out to have been a sustainable development. The crisis is threatening, for example, many processors and mold manufacturers, and that would be bad for the entire industry if companies go under. We are left with the challenge of securing the production capacities that are now planned in the medium and long term.

KraussMaffei Berstorff GmbH  

https://www.kraussmaffeiberstorff.com

VDI Verein Deutscher Ingenieure 

BASF SE  

https://www.basf.com/de.html

RWTH Aachen Inst. f. Kunststoffverarbeitung IKV 

https://www.ikv-aachen.de

TecPart ¿ Verband Technische Kunststoff-Produkte e.V. 

https://www.tecpart.de

ThiM network factory GmbH Technologieplattform hybride innovative Material-Schaumsysteme

https://www.thim-network-factory.com/

Ausgabenartikel

Taking new paths: during the Corona crisis, certain technical obstacles were also overcome by the Kunststoffe publisher advisory committee, who held a round table discussion by video conference for the first time. Present by video link were, among others, (top, from left) Dr. Guiscard Glück, Prof. Christian Hopmann (bottom, from left) Martin Würtele and Dr. Achim Eggert

16:9

Name - Hauptartikel

Dr.-Ing. Erwin Bürkle, Technology Platform Hybrid Innovative Material Foam Systems ThiM, Berlin, Germany

Dr. Achim P. Eggert, VDI Department of Plastics Technology, Düsseldorf, Germany

Dr. Guiscard Glück, Product Development Performance Materials Europe, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany

Prof. Dr. Christian Hopmann, Institute of Plastics Processing (IKV) at RWTH Aachen, Germany

Michael Weigelt, General Manager GKV/TecPart Verband Technische Kunststoff-Produkte e. V., Frankfurt/Main, Germany

Martin Würtele, Head of Technology Development, KraussMaffei Technologies GmbH, Munich, Germany.