Our Green line concept

BIO-BASED POLYMERS

Address the effects of climate change and the finite nature of fossil resources

Bioplastics are predominantly made from agro-based raw materials at present, in other words from plants that are rich in carbohydrates such as maize or sugar cane. At the same time, the bio-based plastics industry is investing heavily in research and development to diversify the range of biogenic raw materials available to produce bio-based plastics. The sector is also looking at forestry waste products (tall oil), for example.

Bio-based and semi-bio-based, resistant polymers have identical properties to polymers that are conventionally produced. Bio-based polymers are technically equivalent to their fossil-fuel counterparts, but contribute to reducing the carbon footprint. In comparison with conventional plastics, they offer the unique benefits of reducing the dependency on non-renewable raw materials such as crude oil and minimising greenhouse gas emissions. What’s more, they can also be mechanically recycled within existing recycling streams.

We can process and offer you the following materials:

Interested? Get in touch.

PCR / rPP

Recycled PP is the packaging material of the future

Polypropylene (PP) is recyclable to a considerable extent and has numerous positive properties which make it the ideal material for packaging solutions. For example, it is extremely light, unbreakable and has excellent shaping properties at the same time. PP is also insensitive to heat, light and the weather.

Products made from monomaterial PP are ideal for recycling, and should be returned into the material cycle. Thanks to modern technologies, PP packaging can be converted into new packaging of equally high quality by recycling.

At HK COSMETIC PACKAGING we offer different rPP material alternatives.

You will find notes for handling the PCR materials here.

Interested? Get in touch.

MOLECULAR RECYCLING

A distinction is made between molecular and mechanical recycling. In mechanical recycling, plastic waste is sorted according to type of plastic, washed, melted down and processed into recylates. These are then used as the starting material for new products, replacing virgin material. The chemical structure of the plastic is retained in mechanical recycling.

Molecular recycling enables plastic waste that is otherwise not mechanically recyclable for technical, ecological or economical reasons to be reprocessed. Sorted, single-variety plastic waste can easily be recycled mechanically, however it is often inefficient or technically impossible to sort mixed plastics. The mechanical recycling of pods or cups, for example, is almost impossible because of the different layers with different melting points. In this case, chemical recycling is used to also take these materials for recycling.

HK COSMETIC PACKAGING is certified by the International Sustainability Carbon Certification organisation (ISCC), an independent, global agency that monitors sustainability topics in different industries. It is therefore possible for us to offer packaging from recycled materials that has been certified by the ISCC using the mass balance allocation. We can therefore ensure the traceability of the plastic granulate that we use for your packaging solutions.

The cosmetic industry in particular requires absolute clarity, shine, product compatibility and durability from its packaging. These aspects can also be guaranteed by the molecular recycling technology even for chemically recycled material.

OCEAN BOUND MATERIAL

Recycled raw material made from 100 % ocean-bound plastic

Take part in environmentally friendly circular economy   Protect oceans
Conserve fossil resources   Reduce the carbon footprint by 80% (in comparison to new goods)

CARBON BLACK-FREE

A considerable proportion of plastic packaging is coloured black to block out light and protect the ingredients. Black packaging is also popular because it attracts attention and gives an elegant, premium appearance. However, the colouring used to date that contains carbon black presents an enormous challenge for the recycling value chain.

Why? Recycling plants operate using near-infrared technology (NIR) with optical sensors that identify the packaging to be recycled using light reflection. These optical sensors cannot detect black packaging to a satisfactory level, which means it is sorted out and lands in the non-recyclable waste.

The solution to this is now carbon black-free colour pigments, which we are also using to colour our black jars and bottles. Instead if carbon black, “adjacent” dark tones are used that are also suitable for direct food contact. In the reprocessing process, plastics coloured in this way can be correctly identified and assigned in contrast to packaging that contains carbon black.

At HK COSMETIC PACKAGING we offer carbon black-free pigments for all volumes and series.