With rEPS, the Metzingen-based protective packaging specialist is breaking new ground when it comes to fully closing the recycling loop for EPS protective packaging. The raw material rEPS comprises of 100% recycled EPS or PS from post-consumer goods – and the protective packaging can also be made with up to 100% of this raw material.
The ratio to conventional EPS (i.e. the share of recycled material) can be tailored to reflect customer requirements in terms of cost and properties.
As such, rEPS represents an exceptionally attractive solution for companies that wish to ship their goods safely while taking sustainability seriously. As part of a customer project, which is due to get underway in the first quarter of 2020, Storopack will be launching the first-ever protective packaging made from 100% rEPS.
In-House Production, from Recycled Material to Protective Packaging:
The protective packaging specialist is using a new production process to make rEPS. Storopack is the first manufacturer with a fully integrated and patented production process for the new material. Both the recycling and the production of rEPS beads take place exclusively at the company’s own locations. Expanded plastics, especially expanded polystyrene (EPS), are some of the world’s most commonly used synthetic materials. First and foremost, this is due to their use as protective packaging for household appliances and consumer electronics, with the material properties of EPS offering multiple benefits in this regard. As packaging often has a short useful life, it is imperative that it is collected and reused in an eco-friendly way. This is exactly where rEPS, the new and innovative material from Storopack, comes in.
It proves that EPS is not only fully recyclable, but that it can be 100% reused to produce new protective packaging, thus closing the recycling loop. “The challenge in terms of developing rEPS was to create a more sustainable yet efficient loop for EPS protective packaging from the collect to the molding while retaining the key properties of the final product. We were successful on both counts, thanks to an exceptional team work” explains Charles Poisson, Director of Research and Development at the Storopack Molding division. Thanks to the new recycled material rEPS, it’s possible to produce protective packaging that is 100% recycled.
Source: Storopack press release
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