Mega-food companies support emerging technology for recycling laminated packaging
Posted by Lisa McTigue Pierce -- Packaging Digest, 7/28/2011 1:38:16 PM
Enval has partnered with both Nestlé and Kraft Foods to support the construction of the first commercial scale plant for Enval's patented material recovery technology. Enval's recycling equipment will be sold, ultimately, to companies that offer waste handling services.
While Nestlé and Kraft Foods may not be direct customers of Enval, both of these companies recognize that Enval's technology offers a favorable end-of-life solution for difficult-to-recycle pouches and tubes based on plastic and aluminium laminates. The benefits of a genuine recycling solution for these packaging formats are so significant that Enval is working closely with manufacturers throughout the packaging supply chain to bring together a consortium of companies who are committed to tackling the sustainability of laminate packaging.
David Boorman, business development director at Enval, says, "The primary purpose of the consortium is to share the capital cost of building the first Enval commercial plant and drive awareness of the technology to accelerate its adoption. Enval's focus now is on constructing the new plant so that it is ready for commissioning early next year and then commencing commercial operations soon after that."
Kraft Foods was among the first to join this consortium.
"We're proud of our track record as an industry leader supporting innovative groups to help advance recycling and reduce waste," says Perfecto Perales, senior director, Packaging Research, Development & Quality, Kraft Foods. "We're hopeful the Enval Consortium will build on our past successes with other groups that proved effective in driving the collection and re-use of post-consumer flexible packaging waste. The Enval Consortium brings together a cross industry group of people from across the supply chain, focused on determining the commercial merits of this promising technology for aluminum recovery in flexible films."
Enval's patented technology offers a genuine recycling route for plastic/foil flexible packaging laminate, which has to date been unrecyclable. Packaging systems based on these materials, such as pouches for drinks and pet food, aseptic drink cartons and laminate tubes, may be completely recovered for recycling using Enval's process and equipment.
Enval's award-winning technology separates the laminate material into its constituent components, producing clean aluminium ready for reintroduction into the secondary aluminium supply chain. The plastic is converted into a pyrolysis gas, which can be used to generate electricity. According to the company, the process is economically and environmentally viable and offers a beneficial outcome for this packaging waste, which might otherwise be sent to landfill or incinerated.
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Enval has partnered with both Nestlé and Kraft Foods to support the construction of the first commercial scale plant for Enval's patented material recovery technology. Enval's recycling equipment will be sold, ultimately, to companies that offer waste handling services. 
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