“Recognizing that black bottles are one of the central challenges when it comes to recyclability of used packaging, we want to be part of the solution: The new material will contribute to closing the loop of plastic packaging in a sustainable way,” says Vineet Varman, Head of International Packaging Development for Special Detergents at Henkel Laundry & Home Care. “Our joint development projects across all our three business units underline Henkel’s commitment to sustainable packaging and to drive progress toward a circular value chain.”
Solution for recyclability of black plastic bottles
Due to the used color so far, black plastic packaging poses a challenge for the recycling value chain: Recycling facilities use near infra-red (NIR) technology to identify the plastic materials to be recycled. The optical sensors utilize the reflection of light to detect the material and sort it accordingly. Black plastic packaging, however, due to presence of carbon black cannot be identified and sorted properly by these optical sensors.
