UPM Raflatac’s RafCycle enables label lining to be recycled in books and magazines
Germany Henkel’s Beauty Care business unit, which markets brands such as Schwarzkopf, has reduced its label liner waste to zero in a unique partnership with UPM Raflatac.
Henkel generated more than 400 tons of siliconised glassine label liner waste at its Wassertrüdingen facility in Germany during 2016. But through UPM Raflatac’s RafCycle recycling concept, Henkel has been able to recycle the entire amount, equivalent to 20 truckloads of liner waste.
UPM Raflatac’s innovative RafCycle concept gives a new life to self-adhesive label waste that would otherwise be incinerated or landfilled. UPM collects used label release liner from Henkel and recycles it into new graphic printing paper for books and magazines at the UPM Plattling paper mill in Germany.
“Co-operating with our partners along our value chain is a key element in our sustainability strategy,” said Greg Douglas, business development for tapes, labels, coatings in Europe at Henkel.
“The partnership with UPM Raflatac reflects our belief that sustainability is inseparably linked to innovation and efficiency. In our workshop with UPM Raflatac, our Henkel Laundry experts were able to develop additional ideas, setting the path for further improvements, especially in the field of new sustainable label design.”
“Henkel has a wide-ranging role in the labelling value chain – both as a raw material supplier and as a label end-user,” said Juha Virmavirta, director, RafCycle solutions, UPM Raflatac. “This makes Henkel an important partner for us, and the RafCycle programme is a vital element of our co-operation. We both see sustainability as a key to success and a driver of innovation. Our recycling partnership is a concrete example of this, and I’m convinced there are many more opportunities to deepen our co-operation.”
UPM Raflatac and Henkel, a global producer of industrial, commercial, and consumer care products, continue to strengthen their collaboration in support of sustainable development in the labelling value chain. Henkel was recently awarded the RafCycle partner certificate for glassine paper liner recycling.
Henkel recently presented product innovations and its food safety commitment at Interpack 2017. At the expo the company focused on its Food Safe Packaging Initiative, taking a closer look at adhesive-related aspects of food packaging.
At the trade show on 4–10 May Henkel presented innovations that, in addition to being food safe, increase production efficiency and operational safety.
“Packaging is the unsung, versatile hero of the food supply chain: It has to be attractive and convenient,” said Dr Monika Tönnießen, manager product safety and regulatory Affairs at Henkel. “Most of all, however, it has to keep the food safe and protect it from adverse environmental factors like light, pressure, or contamination. Of course, packaging also has to be food safe itself.”