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Yoghurt cups made from mechanically recycled polystyrene

The yoghurt cups developed by INEOS Styrolution together with several partners are expected to be on the shelves of Lidl supermarkets soon.
 

Styrenics supplier INEOS Styrolution has announced that it has successfully completed its first project using mechanically recycled polystyrene in a yoghurt pot. According to the company, its ‘Super Clean Process’, which has been registered as a novel technology in accordance with EU Regulation 2022/1616, enables the company to produce recyclates in food contact quality. The process involves several steps and includes sorting (deep NIR sorting including object recognition), hot washing and flake sorting, as well as melt filtration and pelletising. The recycled material has the same physical properties as conventionally produced polystyrene and thus enables a perfect circular solution, it is said. Both the material and the cups are said to have undergone quality controls and the technology has been analysed for the EFSA. The ecological footprint of the recycled material had been shown to be significantly lower than that of conventionally produced material. Development Manager Dr Frank Eisenträger explains: ‘Polystyrene has arrived in the Champions League of recycled food contact materials. It will enable manufacturers to meet the new requirements of the new EU PPWR directive for packaging and packaging waste.’
 
Sources:

  • Press release Ineos Styrolution (19.12.2024)
  • Photo: © Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller

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