Circulary

Together with its supplier Ampacet, a global provider of masterbatch, Henkel has developed an innovative solution for black plastic packaging that is fully recyclable. The new packaging material uses an alternative carbon-free black color, enabling used bottles to be integrated back into the value chain. It was introduced for black bottles of toilet cleaning products under the Bref brand in May 2019, followed by further Henkel products. Henkel’s packaging development teams are now working on successfully integrating the new material into additional packaging types while ensuring it meets the highest quality standards. As a next step, they are driving the integration of recycled content in the packaging.

• The Black Master Batch addresses one of the central challenges when it comes to recyclability of used packaging and introduces a solution to closing the loop of plastic packaging in a sustainable way.
• It furthermore underlines Henkel’s commitment to sustainable packaging and to drive progress toward a circular value chain. By 2025, 100 percent of the company’s packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable.  Henkel also wants to increase the share of recycled plastic to 35 percent for its consumer goods products in Europe by 2025
• Cyclos-HTP, an institute specialized in the classification, assessment and certification of recyclability of packaging and goods certified that Henkel’s bottles with this carbon-free black color are fully detectable and sortable.

• Black plastic packaging poses a challenge for the recycling value chain: Recycling facilities use near infra-red (NIR) technology to identify the plastic materials to be recycled.
• The optical sensors utilize the reflection of light to detect the material and sort it accordingly.
• Black plastic packaging, however, due to presence of carbon black cannot be identified and sorted properly by these optical sensors.

Ampacet corporation

Peter Boris Schmitt - Corporate Director and Head of EU Office

+32 (0) 2 206 30 60

peterboris.schmitt@henkel.com