Siegwerk said that deinking the packaging before regranulation keeps the packaging in the recycling stream and prevents the packaging inks from contaminating the recyclable components
The three firms will work to deink the collected waste before entering the recycling extrusion process. (Credit: Siegwerk Druckfarben AG & Co. KGaA)
Printing inks and coatings provider Siegwerk has collaborated with Germany-based startup Wildplastic and the Hamburg University of Technology (TU-Hamburg) to increase recyclability of plastic waste.
The collaboration follows successful trials, conducted at the end of 2022, that involved deinking the collected waste before entering the recycling extrusion process results to achieve better recyclability.
Siegwerk said that deinking packaging before regranulation keeps the packaging in the recycling stream and prevents the packaging inks from contaminating the recyclable components.
Wildplastic and the Institute of Circular Resource Engineering and Management (CREM) of the TU-Hamburg began a collaborative research and development project in 2021.
The project intended to study the feasibility of enhancing the quality of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE)-recyclates from post-consumer sources.
This project was funded by the Investment and Development Bank of Hamburg (IFB), while Evonik joined as a collaborative partner.
In order to facilitate the production of clean recyclates, Siegwerk is assisting Wildplastic in this project by supplying the deinking chemistry and expertise.
According to the inks and coatings provider, a specific blend of the ink chemistry, deinking detergent, and method can make deinking successful.
Siegwerk senior project manager Ingo Fehr said: “It is a pleasure to work with our partners from Wildplastic and from the University of Hamburg on this topic. We have a strong can-do attitude in common.
“The scientific perspective and the conscientiousness contributed by Jinyang helps us to maintain a fact-based and objective view. Not only in the design of experiments but also in the interpretation of results.
“Wildplastic has the ambition to benefit from deinking in their recycling activities in just a few months and brings in an industrial perspective.”
In December last year, Siegwerk launched a new SICURA Litho Pack series for non-food packaging applications.