Collaboration Produces Food-Grade LLDPE PCR for Flexible Packaging

Charter Next Generation (CNG) and Revolution Sustainable Solutions, LLC are collaborating to drive market adoption of commercially available post-consumer recycled, linear low-density polyethylene (PCR-LLDPE) for food and flexible packaging applications. It marks a significant milestone for brands in search of solutions to incorporate post-consumer recycled content in food contact packaging.

“CNG is excited to partner with Revolution to bring food-grade LLDPE post-consumer resins to the market,” says Scott Hammer, CNG’s director of corporate sustainability. “Revolution’s proprietary recycling process, combined with CNG’s expertise in developing films with post-consumer resins enables brands to transition to post-consumer recycled materials without sacrificing performance.”

“We are proud to have developed a process to manufacture and offer high-grade PCR-LLDPE for customers committed to using recycled content in consumer packaging,” says Tammy Rucker, Revolution’s VP of sustainable materials. “Our partnership with CNG is a significant step forward to narrow the gap in the demand for post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging for food-contact applications.”

As the need for sustainable consumer packaging grows worldwide, the two environmentally conscious manufacturers share a vision to help brands achieve their corporate global commitments and meet legislative mandates requiring post-consumer content.  

Both are members of the U.S. Plastics Pact, a solutions-driven consortium launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s global Plastics Pact network. Revolution and CNG’s offering fills a need for businesses that package, produce or sell food products to include PCR content in their flexible film food packaging looking to reach the target goal of 30% recycled content by 2025.

CNG will offer Revolution’s Encore food-grade PCR-LLDPE resin for application in film products, which include stand-up pouches, premade bags, and roll stock applications for both vertical form, fill, and seal (VFFS) and horizontal FFS (HFFS) packaging. When produced with Revolution’s high-quality certified PCR resin, CNG films offer 40% or more recycled content, without sacrificing performance. 

Revolution introduced Encore food-grade PCR-LLDPE to the market in 2022 after receiving a Letter of No Objection (LNO) in December 2021 from the US Food and Drug Administration. The LNO allowed for Revolution’s proprietary recycling method to produce PCR-LLDPE for flexible films in food contact at content levels up to 100% for all food packaging types under nearly all Conditions of Use (B through H) as defined by the FDA. This performance allows packaging manufacturers to use PCR in application from boiling water sterilized and high temperature filled to refrigerator and freezer storage.