Ocean-Bound Plastic to Be Used in Packaging

Ocean-Bound Plastic Packaging Solution SABIC has strengthened its successful partnership with Polivouga, a flexible film products manufacturer based in Portugal, by launching an innovative new TRUCIRCLE™ project designed to reuse post-consumer plastic waste recovered from areas up to 50 km inland from waterways that have the potential to reach our rivers and oceans. A collaboration with Nueva Pescanova Group, a leading Spanish brand owner specializing in the fishing, farming, processing and marketing of fresh, chilled and frozen seafood, has resulted in the development of the world's first frozen food packaging solution using certified circular polyethylene sourced from ocean-bound plastic feedstock. The new sustainable packaging will be launched to market in line with World Ocean Day 2022. Ocean-bound plastic is used by SABIC, through advanced recycling, as an alternative feedstock to produce certified circular polymers - SABIC® LLDPE (Linear Low Density Polyethylene) and LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) - which is then converted into flexible packaging film by Polivouga. Nueva Pescanova subsequently packages frozen seafood in bags made from this film. The collaboration marks SABIC's first TRUCIRCLE project using recycled ocean-bound plastic in certified circular polyethylene. Sami Al-Osaimi, Vice President PE and Sales at SABIC, said: "This is an exciting circular packaging solution for us because it demonstrates how waste plastic with the potential to end up in our oceans can be brought back into the material flow cycle to be transformed into high-quality food packaging. It also underscores SABIC's commitment to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 14 for 'Life Below Water'. The results demonstrate once again the art of the possible when dedicated value chain partners collaborate to make a difference." Nueva Pescanova Group CEO Ignacio González stated: "As a seafood company, we have a great responsibility to care for the seas and oceans, the ecosystems on which our business depends and with which we must all be concerned. Through this initiative, we will give these plastic waste a new life by preventing them from reaching the marine environment. We have set ourselves the goal of making 100% of our packaging recyclable by 2025, and with this action we will take another step closer to achieving this." The ocean-bound plastic-based solution is fully certified under the Zero Plastic Oceans program and the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS chain of custody. This means the material flow from ocean-bound plastic to final packaging is monitored and tracked in accordance with a series of predefined and transparent rules. Tiago Barros, CEO of Polivouga, added: "The project reaffirms and takes another step forward in our committed journey with SABIC to drive circularity in our sector, enabling us to now offer our customers premium flexible film products based on mixed plastic waste that could otherwise contaminate our seas and waterways. In addition to offering a food-contact approved polyolefin product, these ocean-bound plastic PE films provide the same tear and puncture resistance as competitive PE packaging structures made from virgin fossil PE resins." SABIC's certified circular polymers form part of the company's TRUCIRCLE portfolio and services for circular solutions. The offering also includes design for recyclability, mechanically recycled products, certified renewable polymers from bio-based feedstocks, and closed-loop initiatives to recycle plastic into high-quality applications and help prevent valuable used plastics from becoming waste.   Source