Berry is offering a more sustainable solution for customers requiring black plastic packaging for their food and non-food products with the introduction of a non-carbon black masterbatch.
The new masterbatch means that the used packs are detectable by the Near Infra-Red (NIR) scanners used in waste sorting processes. This allows it to be sorted for recycling purposes, providing a significant improvement on conventional carbon-black plastic which, in many cases, cannot be detected in the waste sorting process and generally ends up as a source of energy through incineration.
“Berry uses a high-quality non-carbon black masterbatch which contains special pigments to improve detection and sorting by NIR technology,” explains Flemming Madsen, Factory Manager at Superfos Wetteren, Belgium, and part of the team behind the development. “This is ideal to improve the recycling and recovery of black plastics. Opting for non-carbon black helps to reduce the amount of non-recyclable plastic in the waste stream.”
The non-carbon black plastic masterbatch is suitable for opaque packs in both polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) products, although the degree of opacity is slightly less than the standard black masterbatch. Superfos continues to work with its masterbatch supplier to ensure that the black colour meets stringent requirements.
Learn more information about our plastic packaging for food applications.