Siegwerk, Greiner Packaging, and Krones have joined forces in a thought-provoking initiative highlighting state-of-the-art recycling facilities' capabilities in converting direct-printed PP and PS cups. Despite being considered non-recyclable by some Design for Recycling Guidelines, the three companies could effectively deink and convert the rigid containers into high-quality white recyclables without altering the ink formulation or print design. This was achieved by utilizing hot caustic washing, a standard process for PET bottle recycling that is increasingly adopted by recyclers working with polyolefin (PO) and PS rigid streams.

The findings underscore the need for guidelines to evolve with technological advancements in recycling, ensuring they reflect the most efficient and sustainable routes to a circular packaging economy. The project partners advocate for reevaluating the role of printing inks and coatings in recycling, calling for a broader assessment of packaging deinkability under standard hot caustic conditions and adopting the corresponding test standard published under DIN SPEC 91496. This viewpoint is well aligned with the position paper recently issued by EuPIA.

For detailed information on the project, its methodology, and findings, please refer to the full document.