Innovia Films and PureCycle have produced and trialled white, cavitated biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film containing more than 40 per cent post-consumer recycled (PCR) content using PureCycle’s PureFive Choice resin.
The film is intended for brand owners looking to introduce recycled content into white, cavitated BOPP applications. White, cavitated BOPP film is used in food-contact packaging, including candy wrappers, ice cream novelty wrappers, snack packaging and roll-fed labelling.
The material is known for its opacity, light weight and printability, with a cavitated structure that provides a paper-like feel and maintains mechanical performance and moisture barrier properties required for food-contact packaging.
Innovia said trial evaluation showed the PureFive Choice resin delivered comparable processing performance to virgin polypropylene across the full cavitated BOPP production sequence. Films made with varying levels of the resin demonstrated comparable mechanical, barrier and sealing properties to virgin PP films.
“This film produced with PureFive resin represents a major milestone and shift in the sustainability of flexible packaging,” said Chris Freshwater, market manager at Innovia Films. “Our research and development specialists are always looking to improve the sustainability of our products. PureCycle’s dissolution recycling technology is a real gamechanger. Not only are we introducing post-consumer recycled content to our films, but we’re doing so with an energy-saving recycling technology.”
The PureFive Choice resin used in the trial is a single-pellet solution designed for film applications. PureCycle’s PureFive portfolio uses a dissolution recycling process that removes colour, odour and contaminants from post-consumer polypropylene to produce recycled resin suitable for end-use applications.
“The successful production of white, cavitated BOPP film is a major step forward for PureCycle and for the flexible packaging industry. This film can be found all over your grocery store, whether it’s in the candy aisle, an ice cream freezer or on snack shelves,” said Pete Dias, senior director of Market, Product, and Application Development at PureCycle. “Brand owners have been searching for a way to incorporate certified recycled content without compromising performance or appearance. By working with Innovia, we have demonstrated that our PureFive resin for film is up to that challenge and strengthens our conviction that PureCycle can serve as a foundational PCR supplier for the global flexible packaging market.”
The development comes as extended producer responsibility schemes and regulations, including California’s SB 54 and the European Union’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR), increase pressure on packaging converters and brand owners to incorporate recycled content, particularly in flexible packaging formats where supply has historically been limited.
White, cavitated BOPP film is widely used across global food packaging applications, particularly in confectionery and snack formats, where recycled content integration has been more challenging compared with other packaging substrates.
