Medical Device Link.

FEATURE

New CCL facilities will allow the company to increase production of its Post Consumer Resin tubes.

Tubes can take many shapes. So can the green opportunities that are available for their production process. From minimizing weight and waste to using bioplastics to incorporating recycled material, flexible tube producers are leading the way for ecologically sound manufacturing.

Small Packages

Alcan Packaging Cebal (Washington, NJ) breaks down environmental initiatives into three steps: eliminate, reduce, replace. Key to the philosophy, replacement has become its ecological cornerstone.

“[A] non-arguable way is to reduce the amount of raw materials,” says Nick Thorne, head of innovation and development, Alcan Packaging Beauty.

“We reduced sleeve weights, and have a whole new range of flip-top caps called Slender, which give us at least a 20% weight reduction—much better than the market average,” Thorne says. In North America, Alcan creates Slender caps for 50-mm tube sizes, and soon will offer caps in 40-mm and 35-mm sizes.

Planet Partners

An increasing amount of customers take to this new packaging, for several reasons. Some customers make it part of their organization’s mission.

“Customers encouraged us; we did all the legwork, then showed them the commercial aspect,” says Jeffrey Hayet, VP of global sales, World Wide Packaging (WWP; Florham Park, NJ). “Really these bigger companies that have mandates want to take advantage.”

Tube manufacturers worldwide offer sustainable products in response to this global demand. In Asia, International Cosmetic Suppliers Ltd. (ICS; North Point, Hong Kong, SAR) has begun giving customers the opportunity to use post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic in their packages.

“We expect demand for these kinds of products to continue to grow and we intend to grow our product offerings along with the demand,” says Susanne Nichols, founder and CEO.

For CCL (Wilkes-Barre, PA), the process began with some support. The company looked for like-minded partners when introducing its sustainability approach, and found that in Aveda.

“We try to be ahead of the curve on environmental innovation,” says John Delfausse, vice president, package development at The Estée Lauder Companies, Aveda’s corporate parent. He has worked with CCL to develop packaging since he began with Aveda in 2000. “It’s been great to have them stick with us all of these years.”

CCL continues to work toward the sustainability ethic, expanding its machine capabilities. “CCL has gone to the next step to invest in custom-extruded machinery,” Delfausse says. “Because we are extruding high-density polyethylene and low-density polyethylene, both have different melt flows. During extrusion, tubes would become oval and you would have difficulty filling the tubes.”

CCL updated its machines to create tubes that would keep their shape despite material differences. The revised equipment has sped up the production process.

Growing Green

Bioplastics are an environmentally sound option for tube makers, but one with some limitations. Barrier requirements and sterilization demands so far prevent 100% use of alternative materials such as sugar- and corn-based plastics.

“Unfortunately, these don’t stand up to the rigors of [processes that] our other polymers [do],” says Thorne. “Most do not like heat or being in contact with water, which significantly restricts their usage.” He cites the reaction of polylactic acid to water-based cream. If the bioplastic comes in contact with water, it will swell and lose its barrier properties. “You would lose contact with your cream very quickly.”

“You have to think twice or three times before including this in your package,” Thorne continues. “See if you can reduce part of the package or all of the package with this. We have programs with key customers in hybrid packages.” Alcan has found that it can use up to 40% biopolymer.

Such hybrid packages, which utilize bioplastics along with standard polymers, do not go rapidly into customer hands. The tubes require new rosters of tests and “new frames of mind.”

“It depends on whether they’re willing to accept this compromise,” Thorne says. “It makes them change their mind on what are very accepted polymers.“

What’s Inside Counts

Tubes made from PCR material are on the rise. Many companies offer a triple-layer coextruded PCR tube. The recycled material is sandwiched by virgin resin layers, keeping product from coming in contact with recycled material and offering a clean slate for outer marketing material and labeling.

Likewise, the Post Consumer Resin tube from WWP keeps product protected from post-consumer material. “The middle layer is made from milk bottles that we recycle,” says Hayet. “The layer that touches product is virgin.”

Hayet explains that the journey of HDPE milk bottles into WWP tubes crosses many hands, even oceans. First, a virgin polyethylene pellet is made by a large conglomerate. It then is shipped to blowers, blown in a controlled environment, then sent to a distributor, ready to fill. Once the contents have been consumed, it is sent to a recycling company, sterilized, and reprocessed to its original state. Finally, WWP extrudes the tube in a unique fashion.

“The evolution is a little wild when you think about it,” Hayet says.

WWP creates a 13-mm tube for ointments and creams that is 20% PCR. At the larger end of the spectrum, the company offers a 60-mm tube, its biggest commercial tube, which is more than 80% PCR.
ICS also has turned to making tubes from recycled material. By using a similar strategy of three coextruded layers, the company can create tubes that use up to 33% of recycled material in the tubes, as well as incorporate it into caps.

“We have been offering post-consumer recycled plastic for cosmetic and beauty components for quite a while,” says Nichols. “Already, we offer many [other] environmentally friendly packaging options, including pre-consumer recycled plastic [processed scrap virgin plastic], recycled paper/cardboard packaging, recycled export cartons, and reduction of excess waste in packing.”

Few changes have been made to the manufacturing facility. “The certified PCR resin is mixed in the master batch and, therefore, there is no change in the production line,” Nichols says.

Unpaved Roads Ahead

Manufacturers are looking beyond recycling and minimizing material usage. Many now turn to the label to seek improvements. For WWP, this means focusing on the printing process.

“We would take this one step further to soy-based inks,” Hayet says. “We’re not pushing heavily into it, but the next step will be the label.” Soy-based inks wash off, but do not contribute heavy toxins to the landfills they inhabit.

Alcan goes green with two label aspects. Because solvent-based inks can have a harmful effect on the environment, and chemicals drying on a printed label can release toxins through evaporation, the company exclusively uses UV-curable inks and coatings in its tube operation.

Customers seeking tubes with high-quality graphics—silk screen, hot stamp—typically opt for labels. Alcan says it can provide the same graphic quality directly onto tubes, which Thorne says “will be totally new for the plastic tube market.”

“This will remove a lot of material, because labels also come with backing material,” Thorne continues. “You’re using about 180 µm of label material.”

For now, green packaging is making a large, if imperceptible, impact on the public. WWP believes that its tubes can barely be distinguished from 100% virgin material tubes.

“If you hold one on the outside, you can’t tell the difference. It’s a true story of success,” Hayet says.