Sioux Falls, United States – CCL Label, a global leader in specialty label, security, and packaging solutions, has achieved a significant milestone in sustainable label materials with the recognition of its polyolefin shrink sleeve technology, EcoFloat™, by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) in the United States.
In the official recognition letter, APR stated, “We are pleased to recognize CCL Label’s EcoFloat™ printed polyolefin shrink sleeve on HDPE container as meeting or exceeding the most strict APR HDPE Critical Guidance criteria HDPE-CG-01 Critical Guidance Protocol for HDPE Rigid Containers. A Review Committee, appointed per the APR Recognition Operating Procedures, reviewed your data submission and concluded the data were correctly obtained by a qualified laboratory and were completely presented to show the shrink sleeves submitted meet or exceed the most challenging test conditions and strictest APR Critical Guidance criteria.”
Guenther Birkner, a member of the management team at CCL Label, expressed their commitment to sustainable packaging solutions, stating, “We see EcoFloat as the sustainable decoration solution of the future – for a whole range of packaging in the beverage, dairy, home care, and other industries. So we are proud that this has been verified by receiving the recognition of APR with one of the world’s most widely accepted and comprehensive testing protocols that ensure new packaging products and innovations meet recycling guidelines and do not contaminate the recycling stream.”
EcoFloat™, as a polyolefin film, is well-suited for HDPE bottles and PP cups, a fact previously certified by the recycling organization Interseroh with their “Made for Recycling” label in Europe.
Birkner emphasized their commitment to boosting plastic recycling and advancing toward a circular economy, saying, “Our investment is part of our commitment to boost plastic recycling by providing the right label solutions and take steps towards a circular economy as stated ever since we signed the Global Commitment of the New Plastics Economy led by the Ellen MacArthur foundation three years ago. In the future, there will be more and more regulations to set a target for the recycling rate in municipal waste, for example. Reaching these will not be feasible without investing in new technologies for packaging materials that support ‘Design for Recycling.’ As a floatable, low-density polyolefin film, EcoFloat fulfills the requirements for sleeves as defined in packaging design guidelines.”