“Evolution Series” of Coating Products for Enhanced Recycling
Flint Group Narrow Web has introduced two new UV-flexo coatings, which improve the recyclability for shrink sleeves and pressure-sensitive labels.
According to the company, the two new coating products, only available in North America, would soon be available in Europe and other regions. Using different chemistries, the “Evolution Deinking Primer” for shrink sleeves, and the “Evolution Caustic Resistant Overprint Varnish (OPV)” for self-adhesive labels, were designed to increase the yield of material in the recycling process. “Both coatings have been recognized by the Association of Plastic Recyclers to comply with the critical guidance for PET packaging,” Flint Group Narrow Web assured.
As reported, the Evolution Deinking Primer is a coating used on shrink sleeve materials that makes the ink release in the caustic bath of the recycling process. “When used with crystallizable polyester shrink sleeve material (CPET), the primer keeps the ink anchored to the substrate through the usable life of the sleeve but releases it in the caustic bath. The ink is removed from the sleeve material without contaminating the valuable bottle flake. The materials are rinsed and pelletized into recycled polyester (rPET) for reuse.” The product would work with Flint Group’s EkoCure® XS flexo inks that are specially designed for shrink sleeves.
The Evolution Caustic Resistant OPV is a UV-flexo overprint varnish to facilitate recycling PET bottles utilizing pressure-sensitive labels. “The varnish minimizes contamination of the wash water and bottle flake in the caustic bath by keeping the ink secured to the label substrate. When immersed in the float-sink bath, the label is released from the bottle and floats to the surface where it is separated from the bottle recycling stream.”
As stated by Flint Group, both products are “plug and play” solutions that enable better recycling without impacting the quality or application performance.
(Published in GLOBAL RECYCLING Magazine 1/2022, Page 33, Photo: Flint Group)
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