Germany : Siegwerk, one of the world’s leading providers of printing inks for packaging applications and labels, is in this year’s international Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA) trade show to present its newest development project as part of the recyclate initiative of Werner & Mertz at the “World of Private Label,” in Amsterdam.
Siegwerk has partnered with Mondi, Der Grüne Punkt, and ALPLA in the initiative, where it demonstrated the possibilities of a more effective recycling system and visualize mutual engagement in the development of sustainable and recyclable packaging solutions in more detail.
At the world’s largest trade show for private brands is organised annually by the PLMA, where around 2,600 manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers present their products and innovations in the food and non-food area to around 15,000 international visitors.
With its partners, Werner & Mertz pursues the goal of developing sustainable material cycles and using material sourced from the “recycling bin” to do so. “The only way to prevent plastic packaging from ending up as waste in the ocean is to recycle it in a high-quality manner after use,” explained Reinhard Schneider, managing owner of Werner & Mertz. At the PLMA, the partners showed the entire cycle of a PET and HDPE bottle made of recyclate – from plastic waste collection in the recycling bin to recycled plastics processing to new packaging and finally to the product on the shelves.
Siegwerk has worked closely with Werner & Mertz since 2016 to promote the development of sustainable packaging as part of a recycling economy by means of innovative ink solutions. In its first cooperative project, Siegwerk developed a sustainable, low-migration UV offset ink series for printing Werner & Mertz labels.
In 2017, Sicura Litho NutriEco was the first printing ink to be awarded the gold status of the Cradle to Cradle Material Health Certification, which not only certifies that the printed ink layer is harmless to people and the environment, but also that the printed product packaging can be safely recycled in the currently established material cycles.