Two automated sorting solutions for multilayer flexible packaging
Creators: name: Josselin, Raphaël
name: De Lint, Marien
name: Kerver, Johan
name: Bourely, Antoine
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Waste sorting
subject: Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared/methods
subject: Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared/trends
subject: CurvCode
subject: multilayer
subject: Packaging waste

description: Recycling is more and more encouraged by national and European regulations. The upcoming Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) will require that all packaging comply with design for recycling criteria by 2030, and all packaging should be recycled at scale by 2035.However, due to the lack of sorting and recycling technologies, today, most of the multilayer films (MLs) end up into the refuse outlet, being incinerated or dumped in landfills. Moreover, depending on their structure, MLs sometimes contaminate the current output made of Mono-material films only (Mainly Mono-PE and Mono-PP flexibles for mechanical recycling) due to incorrect sorting. In the future, MLs might be considered as recyclable thanks to innovative processes, such as physical and chemical recycling.CIMPA is an EU funded H2020 project aiming to address the circularity challenges of MLs by developing a recycling value chain for post-industrial and post-consumer multilayer films from food and agricultural applications. CIMPA proposes innovative solutions including the development of new technologies for sorting different films, together with mechanical and physical (dissolution) recycling processes. Furthermore, decontamination and upgrading processes are applied to produce quality material from waste which will be suitable to close the loop.Thus, accurate sorting of MLs is the first step to increase the circularity of packaging and has two main advantages:- It prevents contamination of existing recycling processes and upgrades the quality of existing sorted streams.- It allows the creation of MLs waste fractions fit for specific recycling processes.Most MLs flexible packaging pass through Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) where NIR optical sorters are widely used. Therefore, the best way to quickly enhance MLs recycling is to provide solutions on existing machinery in MRFs. This white paper describes two solutions:

1 – Advanced NIR-based detection with Mistral + Connect – TRL9This solution is based on the compositional analysis and sorting trials done by Pellenc ST on flexible samples, with the support from all plastic film manufacturing partners and Paprec. It uses Pellenc ST’s NIR optical sorter, the Mistral + Connect. Advanced Chemometric algorithms used give accurate detection results for PE/PET and PE/PA structures.2 – Combined NIR + DW prototype – TRL7-8Digital watermarking is a promising technology for effective sorting of multilayer materials. The technology of FiliGrade has the potential to deliver sorted fractions that meet specific quality standards. Moreover, digital watermarks enable sorting to be triggered by characteristics unrelated to package composition like ‘membership’ and ‘usage’ (food versus non-food). The combination of digital watermarking and NIR technologies surpasses the intrinsic limits of NIR detection and permits closed-loop recycling for food grade materials.