Siegwerk, a leading global provider of printing inks and coatings for packaging applications and labels, has announced the successful development of a fully recyclable mono-PE bag for dry pet food using its CIRKIT functional coatings. Collaborating with printing machine manufacturer Windmöller & Hölscher and bag making and machine producer B&B, the company has produced a new high-barrier mono-material packaging that offers the same packaging and process performance as the multi-material structure commonly used for dry pet food but is fully recyclable.
“The challenge is to find a recyclable design that also meets the respective performance requirements of the packaging,” says Belal Habib, Head of Brand Owner Collaboration at Siegwerk. “This is where innovative barrier coatings applied in thin layers and inline with regular printing inks can help to switch from an incompatible multi-material structure to a fully recyclable mono-material solution in the sense of a Circular Economy.”
Siegwerk’s CIRKIT GreaseBar, an inline printable grease barrier coating, and CIRKIT HeatGuard, a coating for high-end sealing process efficiency, were used to develop the recyclable mono-PE bag. These coatings, applied inline with regular printing inks, provide the same packaging performance as non-recyclable complex multi-material systems but with the advantage of being fully recyclable. The coatings are solvent-based, fully deinkable after delamination, and comply with recycling guidelines.
Collaboration along the packaging value chain was crucial for this development. Habib highlights the importance of combining specialized know-how to create innovations that are circular, deliver performance, and maintain process efficiencies. Samples of the new pet food pouch will be available at Interzoo (May 7-10 in Nuremberg, Germany) at B&B’s booth 4A-413 in hall 4A and at drupa (May 28 – June 7 in Duesseldorf, Germany) at W&H’s booth A51 in hall 15. Additionally, a presentation on “Recyclable Packaging Solutions for Pet Food” will be held by Siegwerk and B&B experts at Interzoo on May 8 at 4 p.m. CEST.