Dow has announced the development and launch of its innovative family of REVOLOOP™ Recycled Plastics Resins, marking a significant milestone in the company’s commitment to advancing circularity and transforming waste.
By 2030, Dow aims to transform waste by commercializing three million metric tons of circular and renewable solutions annually. To achieve this goal, Dow is expanding its efforts to advance circular and sustainable packaging. Aligned with these sustainability objectives, the launch of REVOLOOP™ Plastics Resins represents a new promise to unlock additional value in plastic waste for customers and partners.
The launch includes two new grades of REVOLOOP™ Plastics Resins approved for non-food contact packaging applications. One grade contains 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content, while the other is a formulated grade containing up to 85% PCR derived from household waste.
Fabrice Digonnet, Plastics Mechanical Recycling Strategy Leader EMEA at Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics, highlighted the significance of the launch, stating, “With the introduction of our new grades of REVOLOOP™ Recycled Plastics Resins, we are expanding our sustainability portfolio, collaborating with brands, converters, and recyclers to design new packaging solutions that use less plastic and are fully recyclable. This launch marks an exciting evolution in our recycling journey and enables us to achieve new circularity and low-carbon targets.”
Challenges in maximizing recycled resources
Historically, the plastics industry has faced challenges in maximizing the use of recycled plastics from household waste in demanding applications such as collation shrink films, due to higher contamination levels compared to waste from commercial or industrial sources.
The new REVOLOOP™ launch addresses these challenges, representing a significant development in the recycling landscape.
Through a collaboration with long-time Dow customer RKW Group, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of shrink films, both companies are achieving new circularity and low-carbon milestones using REVOLOOP™ Recycled Plastics Resins. By combining Dow’s material science expertise with RKW’s extrusion and printing capabilities, they are maximizing the value of recycled plastics from household waste streams to meet demanding application requirements. Konrad Noniewicz, Director R&D & Application Engineering at RKW Group, commented, “This collaboration introduces a brand-new collation shrink film to the market. By integrating REVOLOOP™ 100% PCR and REVOLOOP™ containing recycled plastics from household waste with virgin materials, we create a flexible packaging solution that meets mechanical recyclability requirements, ensuring compatibility with existing recycling processes and contributing to the transition towards a circular economy.” The resulting collation shrink film contains PCR, partially derived from recycled plastics from household waste, meeting the high standards of renowned brand owners worldwide.
The collaboration between Dow and RKW demonstrates a strong and effective relationship across the value chain, pushing the boundaries of mechanical recycling and accelerating the circular economy.
Dow and RKW will showcase the new REVOLOOP™ grades and the innovative shrink film at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe. The event will take place from 19-20 June in Amsterdam, Netherlands, providing an opportunity to witness how collaborative efforts are shaping the future of flexible packaging. Meet the team of experts at Hall 9, Booth 9-333.
