Trying to achieve a circular economy with existing plastics is like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. Zoë Lenkiewicz explains why doing better means embracing change and cites an example of what that change might look like - Aquapak’s dissolvable and 100% recyclable PVOH packaging films.
Our performance on delivering a plastics circular economy is poor, with 95% plastic packaging material value being lost after a short, single use.
End-of-life has not been a consideration in the historic development of plastics. Whether a material could be recycled or composted simply wasn’t a factor, but times have moved on, the world is filling up with plastic waste, and so end-of-life has moved front-of-mind.
Where the ‘traditional’ or historic plastics have failed with sustainability, they have succeeded in being cherished by some in the waste management sector. Despite the absence of positive end-of-life characteristics, some conservatives think we are better off sticking to the familiar (PP, PE and PVC) rather than looking to progressive, new materials with circular end-of-life benefits.
This reluctance to trial materials with true circular economy potential is proving a barrier to progress.
“Dreaming of a simpler world where plastics are pure streams with no additives, and there are no laminates or composites... is just dreaming,” says John Williams, director at Aquapak Polymers. “The world isn’t like that now and it won’t be in the future. We demand more and more functionality in our plastics, which means materials are getting more complex. We have to be smarter not simpler.”
EMBRACING CHANGE
There is a well-known business book called Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr Spencer Johnson. A motivational business fable, its story teaches us to expect change, embrace change and make the most of it. Right now, drastic change is taking place in the materials and resource management world, and those who adapt to change will be the ultimate survivors.
“The waste management sector has typically considered itself to be a reactive industry,” says Williams. “But in a circular economy, waste managers suddenly become influential. Some people understand this, and they are the ones at the table.”
Aquapak is a British tech company that has developed a library of polymers based on polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH), the flexible and dissolvable plastic used in laundry liquid pods, surgical stitches and medicine capsules. The team at Aquapak has been working on the formulae for five years and is about to launch its 100% recyclable, flexible plastics lines for packing products such as crisps or replacing the clear plastic films used on meat packaging, etc.
With its first UK factory opening imminent, the company is in deal-making talks with some big brands. “When people resist new materials outright it can be frustrating,” says Williams, “But thankfully, while some are saying this can’t be done, others are saying yes, it can.”
PVOH is water soluble, with the degree depending on the blend of polymers, formulation, thickness and temperature. The material is hydrophilic and breaks down into harmless organic components in the presence of large amounts of water much quicker than standard hydrophobic plastics, which can take many hundreds of years.
As a packaging material, Aquapak’s formulated PVOH films are highly functional, with barrier qualities outperforming current market-leaders for many applications. It is non-toxic and has FDA approval which opens up the potential for manufacturers, brand owners, retailers and reprocessors to have access to a multi-functional, high performing and durable plastic film that can be 100% recyclable and 100% recycled.
At end-of-life, since PVOH dissolves in water, the film separates easily from other materials (such as a rigid plastic food tray or a cardboard sandwich box), reducing contamination throughout the recycling stream.
Using chemical recycling instead of mechanical processes makes the separation and recovery of PVOH both affordable and efficient. According to Aquapak, its notable advancement is the ability to recover its polymer back out of solution in a pure, uncontaminated form. It can be repelletised at the sorting facility and sold directly back to manufacturers in a closed loop.
In order to allow the technology to scale rapidly, Aquapak PVOH pellets are compatible with existing polyethylene (PE) blow film production facilities, so no investment is required by the blown film manufacturers, and as demand for the products increase, operations can be scaled up and extended.
SUPPLY CHAIN
A New Plastics Economy is clearly not just about new materials, it’s about new processes. We cannot achieve a circular economy using the same approaches we have always used. As Einstein said, insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If traditional plastics are a barrier to more sustainable resource use, then let’s change to something that allows circularity.
Equally, if the new plastics have value, then it’s in the interests of the waste management companies to separate it and sell it, not say ‘we don’t want it’.
“We need engagement and collaboration all along the supply chain. The waste management industry needs to be part of this change so that new materials don’t get rejected. Likewise, people working on new materials need to think about end-of-life from day one; it’s a completely different approach to resource management,” explains Williams.
Waste managers can now influence supply chains, since they are a fundamental part of the materials cycle. Likewise, if a new material manufacturer talks with the waste sector about the value of the material and how it can be retained, it will demystify the new material and bust the myths that surround it.
Conclusion
According to Williams we need these new conversations in order to deliver a circular economy.
No-one will have a magic bullet. It takes demonstrations, trials, and engagement with packaging technology partners. “With new materials, we are successfully building end-of-life into the process, and now we need to work on the scale and cost to help bring these superior materials to market,” he says.
Otherwise, we will be stuck with the plastics we are using today, which are not a good fit for the 21st century. As Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
