SLEEVE – Packaging and process optimisation of plastic packaging with sleeves

Development and design of selected and recyclable plastic packaging with sleeves that can be sorted and processed into high-quality recyclates. All the factors along the value chain are considered (design, consumer behaviour, sorting, recycling) in order to optimise the product cycle in the best possible way and maximise recyclate quantities and qualities.

Short Description

The packaging industry must be made more recyclable, and products must be rethought. The 'SLEEVE' project builds on this and focusses on the topic of sleeved packaging, which is a type of packaging labelling in which up to 100% of the main body is covered and usually no adhesive is used. Sleeves add value in many ways: they can be used as a large-scale information carrier, increase the recognition value of products, and contribute to product protection. In certain conditions, they can even improve recyclability, though this recyclability must be better implemented. The consortium is certain that sleeves, when separated correctly and detected, can improve quality by optimally removing impurities (such as printing inks) from the material flow and eliminating them.

The consortium has defined various levers for optimising the recyclability of sleeve packaging. These are:

The packaging design
The consumer's behaviour
The technical sortability
The necessary preparation steps for recycling

The project will evaluate advantageous material combinations for sleeves from certain product categories (use cases). It will also survey consumer behaviour to improve detection (sorting), separability (sleeve separation) and recyclate quality (recycling).

In the course of the packaging designs, in addition to the survey and characterisation of the material combinations of selected product categories, an evaluation of existing communication elements for separating sleeves and a comprehensive sustainability assessment will also be carried out. In terms of consumer behaviour, a survey and a representative sorting analysis will be used to compare the actual separation behaviour with the respondents' assessment. In addition, the current potential in Austrian lightweight packaging collection can be determined.

Other central points are the experimental survey of sorting capability with the help of sensor-supported technology and the development of optimal material combinations for recyclability for certain product categories. The sorting tests with sensor-supported technology are intended to test which material combinations (main body - sleeve) can be detected in the best possible way. Material combinations that are already used on the market by the participating companies will be tested. The study will also encompass recycling and collection of material combinations, in addition to the sorting of material combinations. The effect of sleeve colour design on sorting and recycling will be a key area of investigation, with the objective of optimising the project results and developing Design4Recycling specifications for circular packaging design.

Project Partners

Projektleitung

Viktoria Helene Gabriel, MSc.
FH Campus Wien - Fachbereich Verpackungs- und Ressourcenmanagement

Projekt- bzw. Kooperationspartner

CCL Label GmbH
Circular Analytics TK GmbH
Montanuniversität Leoben - Lehrstuhl für Abfallverwertungstechnik und Abfallwirtschaft
Spar Österreichische Warenhandels-AG
Technische Universität Wien - Institut für Werkstoffwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnologie

Contact Address

Viktoria Helene Gabriel, MSc.
FH Campus Wien - Fachbereich Verpackungs- und Ressourcenmanagement
Favoritenstrasse 226, 1100 Wien
Tel.: +43 1 606 68 77 - 3562
E-Mail: viktoria_helene.gabriel@fh-campuswien.ac.at
Website: www.fh-campuswien.ac.at