Polylaminate Packaging

Polylaminate packaging, which was introduced to the food market to provide greater strength and protection and prolong product freshness, is highly engineered, high-performance packaging but poses serious recycling problems.  

Let's take a look at the most common varieties of composite packaging consisting of paper, plastic, and aluminum. The different layers of these materials held together by adhesives cannot be separated by hand and not all of them are recyclable.

A common type we buy is wrapping paper for cold meats, cheeses, and other fresh produce, which consists of a paper layer and a very thin plastic film that goes into the general waste stream.

The packaging of bakery products such as biscuit wrappers, usually made of paper and plastic, marked with the symbol C/PAP81 were not recyclable until a few years ago. Nowadays, almost all brands have switched to a paper-recyclable type of laminate obtained by a design intervention that has reduced the amount of plastic material in favor of the paper component. However, it is advisable to read the indications on the packaging as some product lines still use non-recyclable packaging.

Thanks to the 2020 update, there is a new method that allows paper producers, producers of items made predominantly of paper, and users of paper products such as packaging, publishing products, labels, and any paper item, in general, to check the level of recyclability on a scale of 4 classes, from A+ to C. The classes are:

• Class A+: sample easily recyclable in most paper mills
• Class A: sample recyclable in the majority of plants suitable for treating ordinary quality pulp, even from the urban separate collection.
• Class B: sample recyclable in plants suitable for treating ordinary quality pulp, including from separated urban waste collection, after adaptation of the standard recycling process. May result in a higher than average level of process waste.
• Class C: sample recyclable only after appropriate selection associated with the urban separate collection, to send it to specialized paper mills for the treatment of this type of material.