Design 2.0: Unlocking Pet Food Bag Recyclability With Polyethylene

HORGEN, Switzerland and LENGERICH, Germany, January 25, 2023 /3BL Media/ – Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics, a business unit of Dow (NYSE: DOW), and leading machine manufacturers W&H and B&B, announce the launch of their joint innovation in recyclable plastic packaging at the K 2022 fair, the world's leading trade fair for plastics processing in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Through new technology, resin and machinery innovation the collaboration successfully led to the development of this recyclable wide-format MDO-PE bag. Using only polyethylene (PE) and a minimal layer of EVOH² ensures recyclability while delivering the same performance and properties of multi-material packages combined with outstanding gloss, transparency and haptics.

Reshaping the future of pet food packaging

For years, the focus of the packaging industry has been on efficiently producing packaging materials that enhance consumer experience and reduce waste. The challenge for recyclable pet food packaging in particular, has been finding technologies that maintain the efficiency of the packaging’s production and its final qualities while relying only on one material, so as to enable recycling in the polyethylene stream.

“Unlocking packaging recyclability is a challenge that no one company can do alone,” said Romain Cazenave, Packaging EMEA Marketing Director, Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics. “Using Dow’s ELITE™, INNATE™ and AFFINITY™ high-performance resins and sealants in combination with our partners’ state-of-the-art machinery technologies and know-how, has enabled us to realize the next generation of recyclable packaging to foster higher recycling rates and enable the circular economy of plastics.”

The large pet food bags are made with MDO-PE film using only polyethylene in each structural layer with the exception of a thin layer of EVOH for the barrier, in line with recycling guidelines. Using high-quality resin and the latest extrusion technology of the W&H VAREX II machine with inline MDO, the film has a final web width of 2x1260 mm and is optimized to reduce material wastage during production.

“On our wider VAREX II extrusion line with inline MDO, we produce MDO-PE film optimised for the following production processes. Thanks to perfect flatness and excellent film quality even with this wide film format, our HELIOSTAR II rotogravure press prints at very high speeds of 400 m/min. To put it in a nutshell: Two-ups for doubled efficiency.” said Dr. Lennart Ederleh, Technical Sales Director at W&H.

Through Dow’s Pack Studios, lamination was enabled at industrial scale before sending the films to bagmaking at the exceptionally smooth pouch-making process with B&B’s side gusseted bag machine SFB, producing 80 bags per minute, which is comparable to multi-material PET/PE structures.

For more information please visit Dow K 2022 website: www.engage.dow.com/K2022

About W&H

Windmöller & Hölscher, a family-owned company, is world leader for machinery and systems for the manufacturing and converting of flexible packaging. The product portfolio includes high-performance machines for film extrusion, printing and converting. As a global company W&H offers its clients everything from a single source: from expert consultation and engineering to the delivery of high-quality machines and complete packaging production lines. Approximately 3,200 employees create optimal solutions for the individual production tasks of flexible packaging producers – bringing the corporate philosophy “Passion for innovation“ to life. Machines by Windmöller & Hölscher are in use in over 130 countries and by more than 5,000 customers. In 2021 the Windmöller & Hölscher Group with its headquarters in Lengerich, Germany reached sales of approximately 969 Mio. EUR. For more information, please visit www.wh.group.

About Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics

Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP), a business unit of Dow (NYSE: DOW), combines core strengths of R&D, worldwide reach, broad product lines and industry expertise to deliver high performing technologies for end use markets in food packaging, personal hygiene, infrastructure, consumer goods and transportation. P&SP is one of the world’s largest producers of polyethylene resins, functional polymers, and adhesives, and enabled by Pack Studios, is a leading innovator and collaborator across the value chain on sustainable application development and circular economy life-cycle design for plastics. www.dowpackaging.com

About Dow

Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth; asset integration and scale; focused innovation and materials science expertise; leading business positions; and environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership to achieve profitable growth and deliver a sustainable future. The Company's ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company in the world. Dow's portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated, science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, mobility and consumer applications. Dow operates 104 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 35,700 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $55 billion in 2021. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter.

For further information, please contact:

Uta Ünal
Dow
+41 44 728 3671
uuenal@dow.com

Wiebke Stork
W&H
+49 54811 45711
wiebke.stork@wuh-group.com

¹ MDO-PE: machine direction orientation polyethylene
² EVOH: Ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer