Plastic packaging specialist Nampak is looking to trial milk bottles with 30% recycled content after a university study found that 50% recycled content was a feasible target for HDPE milk bottles. Nampak commissioned the University of Bradford’s Centre for Advanced Materials Engineering to assess the impact of various proportions of recycled content on processability and the functionality of the material. Researchers concluded that the use of recycled material created very similar properties to the virgin grades.
James Crick, Nampak business development manager, said the research confirmed the firm's confidence in reaching the 50% target. "This is a significant step forward and we now plan to conduct our own blow-moulding trials using 30% rHDPE to replicate the experimental work under manufacturing conditions," said Crick. Using post consumer food grade rHDPE pellets, the experimental work assessed the properties of blends of virgin HDPE with between 10% and 50% rHDPE, and also quantified the effects on material properties of five thermal cycles through an extruder.
The researchers concluded that the recyclate grades studied had very similar properties – including flow behaviour, quality and molecular and chemical structure – to the virgin materials.
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