Materials (all)

Paper/Cartonboard

Cartonboard is also known as solid board or folding box board.

There are several types in the glossary, but all refer to cartonboard types – FBB (folding box board), SBB (solid bleached board), SBS (solid unbleached board) are common examples.

The premium boards are bleached white with a clay coat outer surface to give high white appearance with exceptional print surface and are used for cosmetic and pharmaceutical products of high value. FBB is the most common option and can be used for food contact when a barrier coating is applied on the inside surface, such as grease resistant coating.

Cartonboard is made up of an outer printed layer and an inner layer with the core being of pulp fiber to provide strength. Virgin fiber board is sometimes used as it offers improved strength due to its structure however, this removes the inclusion of recycled content. The gauge and weight of this virgin fiber board is thinner and lighter for the same strength of recycled boards.

1 = Outer print layer
2 = Pulp layer
3 = Inner layer

Although a combination of materials liquid cartons (Tetra Pak) also fall under this heading, these are becoming more widely recyclable as due to an increase in closed-loop recycling schemes. The foil and PET laminates are being reduced so that over 95% of carton is recyclable.

Bagasse (sugar cane) and molded fiber are also included in Paper / Cartonboard material.

Corrugate

Corrugated Cardboard is predominantly used for secondary packaging solutions to contain several primary packs. Corrugate consists of a minimum of 3 layers with the fluting sitting between an inner and outer layer of paper. If the case has a print requirement, the paper used for the print can be white paper or virgin material, if necessary to deliver a required print quality.(These papers are less porous that recycled ones).

The weights and grades of paper and fluting are decided based on set safety factors which take into consideration the weight of the products contained within, the palletization and transport methods for the journey requirements of the case. There are many different flute profiles and case suppliers should run a risk analysis to ensure they select the correct safety factor. The inner paper layer can be virgin or recycled material depending on needs of product.

Smaller flute profiles are used and are stronger than the larger ones, but as more material is used and they are slower to manufacture there is a substantial on cost. Choosing the right material that is fit for purpose is crucial.

Rigid Plastic

Rigid plastics are abundant in the packaging industry due to their versatility in protection and containment of a broad range of product types. They are also, in some cases, used as a secondary or tertiary packaging option.

Common rigid plastic packaging formats include bottles, jars, closures, trays and tubs, and can be produced via a range of manufacturing methods including thermoforming, injection or extrusion blow molding.

Flexible Plastic

Flexible plastics, also known as soft plastics, are versatile and are used across a wide variety of products to deliver a range of benefits. They are lightweight, however, depending on geography, can be challenging to recycle.

Common formats include lidding film, bags, pouches, sleeves, flow wrap, shrink wrap and stretch wrap.
Flexible packaging is mainly supplied as either pre-formed in the required format or on a reel of film, depending in the needs of the product.

Films for flexible plastics many be mono (single) layer films or multi-layer laminates. The selection should be driven by product needs. For example, a laminate may be selected where a mono film cannot provide the barrier properties required to protect the product.

Labels

The most common materials for labels are paper, Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP). Paper labels are not peelable, therefore cannot be removed from the packaging to which they are adhered. Plastic labels can float off flexible plastic and can be collected for recycling but have some application issues.

In e-halo form set-up, labels have their own specification form as some additional fields are required (adhesives etc), some of which impact recyclability assessment. Depending on the material, e-halo forms change accordingly to only request compatible data. Labels also need their own specification as when forming part of an attached group or set, label coverage on the container impacts recyclability.

Closures

Closures are required on all bottles, jars, sprays, and pumps and can be made of several materials. The most common closure materials are High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) or PP.

There is also a range of closure types which includes screw caps, clip-on caps, and push caps. Some have a retaining collar, which is to ensure they remain on the bottle throughout the recycling process. Items with a diameter under 40mm are deemed non-recyclable. They are normally injection molded.

Other specific criteria for closures need to be considered. For child safety caps, also known as child-resistant closures (CRCs), there is a question on the component form. This relates to choking hazards and dictates that small caps should have holes to allow airflow in the case of swallowing so that airways are not restricted. The cap size should be developed so that it is too large to swallow.

The type of cap and if it is non-removable (in a set) affects the recycling statement, i.e. replace the cap and recycle.

Glass

Clear glass is fully recyclable and is a preferred option for glass selection.

Colored glass is less preferred as, although it is recyclable, the market for colored glass is less well established, depending on the recycling infrastructures by geography.

Metal

Metals should only be used for food cans (steel) and drinks cans (aluminum).
Small components are difficult to separate and recycle for example springs and triggers in pumps.

Mixed or Other

For e-halo and recyclability assessment, mixed material is defined as a material whereby the main material makes up less than 95% of the component by weight (e.g., a PE pouch with more than 5% of the weight made up of additional layers of a different polymer, coatings, tie layers or anything else).

Mixed material is available as an option on any of the 9 specifications.

Reach out to suppliersuccess@e-halo.com if you have any concerns or queries when inputting your data.