Label specialist CCL sets a milestone for sustainable bottle-to-bottle recycling!

As the first company worldwide CCL’s LD-PSL material is certified by the independent recycling associations EPBP & APR.

• The unique new self-adhesive label material construction makes an optimal recycling process possible!
• Qualified by PFE (APR protocol) and PTI (EPBP protocol) clear and opaque PS constructions have been endorsed by both of these key recycling bodies.
• Laminated constructions with inks embedded between film layers to avoid ink bleed and ensure scuff-resistance and premium gloss finish.
• Adhesive stays on labels during recycling process which will not reattach themselves to bottle flakes.
• Cost-effective in-house coated constructions.
• These innovative labels are already successfully commercialized in various global markets.

CCL Label Meerane GmbH in Germany, the global competence centre for the beverage industry, has developed a special wash-off pressure sensitive label. This forward-looking innovation opens up a range of new possibilities and supports a sustainable recycling process. The label construction is perfectly suited for easier separation of the label from the actual beverage container during the washing process for example whilst bottle-to-bottle recycling (B2B).

The removal performance of these labels is based upon the same principle as the WashOff labels available from CCL. Following the conventional method of reducing the returned PET containers into flakes, the hot water in the water bath causes the labels to shrink which then separate from the PET flakes without leaving any residual ink or adhesive whatsoever. Whilst the PET flakes sink to the bottom, what is left of the labels swims to the surface enabling easy separation.

A 2-layer construction is used for these labels which ensures that all inks are safely enclosed between the two plastic film layers. The result is that no contamination or discolouration of the water bath or the bottles/flakes is guaranteed.

The use of CCL’s newly developed LD-PSL labels contributes significantly to the sustainable usage of raw materials as well as to optimising the bottle-to-bottle recycling process. The clean separation of PET flakes and the label material is guaranteed and results in the seamless refeeding and therefore reuse of valuable PET raw materials in the recycling chain. This leads to cost savings as well as the very positive effect of improving environmental performance.

The innovative LD-PSL labels can be applied by standard pressure sensitive labellers as commonly used in the industry today.