Plastic Recycling : Reborn announces France’s first de-inking line for PE films

Reborn, a French specialist in recycled flexible plastic packaging, is installing a de-inking line on its site in Ogeu-les-Bains for the "overcycling" of printed consumer films. Three million euros have been invested in the installation of this industrial equipment, called B.Clear, which will enable the group to recycle no less than 4,000 tonnes of polyethylene (PE) film per year, out of an estimated collection potential of 100,000 tonnes in Europe. According to the company, it will be the third installation of its kind in Europe – as well as the first of its kind in France.

Due to their opacity, printing inks can disrupt the manufacture of transparent secondary materials or even result in plastic films being 'downcycled' into garbage bags and thus prevent the establishment of a circular economy. But Reborn intends to change this with its innovative installation that overcomes the obstacle of printing inks to produce transparent secondary materials from printed plastic films.

With its B.Clear technology, the flexible film supplier, claims to be able to produce transparent, high value-added secondary material and manufacture high-quality recycled film. The de-inking line will also increase "the collection of post-consumer, industrial and commercial waste by 30% and the production of secondary material. This will enable us to reach our target of 35,000 tonnes of recycled plastic film by 2025," says Arthur Lepage, President of the Reborn Group, that currently works with companies including Lactalis, Coca Cola, InBev and Unilever.

A second de-inking line is already planned for 2022 at one of the other Reborn sites in France. "Our ambition is to position ourselves as a pioneering player in the circular economy and to show that French industry in the recycling sector has a future," concludes Arthur Lepage.