FDA first used recycled plastics as "green light" for food packaging
According to foreign media reports, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a letter of no objection that envision plastics will use Ocean bound HDPE. The HDPE is made of waste plastic collected from waterways 50 kilometers from the coast. The US FDA mentioned in the letter that it has no objection to the full use of Recycled HDPE in all types of food packaging under the condition of using hydrocarbons.
Consolidated container Corp. (CCC), one of the largest suppliers of rigid plastic packaging in North America, is one of the first manufacturers in the world to provide 100% recycled plastic bottles (excluding colorants).
CCC, through its recycling subsidiary, envision plastics, uses plastics collected within about 30 miles (or 50 kilometers) of the waterway as raw materials for its oceanbound resin.
The U.S. Food and drug administration has issued a no objection letter for oceanbound, clearing the way for the latter to be used for food contact level packaging.
Mark Shafer, senior vice president and general manager of envision plastics, said that up to now, the company has been providing the resin for electronic product packaging, sunglasses and other non food products.
Later in 2018, the nutrition hospitality group, which makes containers for hotel bathroom facilities, also said it would switch to oceanbound resin, and use naocean, the acronym for "no ocean," to identify the bottles and bathtubs.
"We fully expect this to significantly increase demand as our customers have been asking us for Nol," Schafer said
This letter gives brand owners more confidence when using the resin. While the resin is already available for other applications, such as personal care products, the company expects the new environment to provide the company with inspiration for a wider range of applications.
The federal government is on the government's side and does not approve any recycled plastic for food contact. The agency only said it would not object and issue a letter, but the move opened the door to no objection.
Plastics in the environment is a hot topic, which has attracted the attention of the industry, environmentalists and the public. Marine plastics is a particularly critical issue, as opponents of disposable plastics point out that this is one of the reasons for banning these products.
In recent years, many people in the plastics industry have gradually realized that plastics must be better managed after use. For example, the end of plastic waste alliance is a cross industry and transnational organization funded by companies, aiming to establish projects and systems that can solve this problem.
"As one of the largest recycling HDPE processors in North America, we have provided a lot of assistance, many organizations are working very hard, and we have been fully supporting them because they are trying to further collect these materials and process them back to useful things," Shafer said
CCC and envision both have recycling sites in ritzville, North Carolina, and Chino, California, has established a supply chain project to collect plastic waste, load them into containers and deliver them to one of the company's two processing bases.
Brian hankin, senior vice president of innovation, strategy and business development at CCC, said: "we do this in response to the demands of many customers who say," we want more supply, we want to enter the market. ". Marine plastics is a problem of our society. So what I'd like to say is, although it may be a little boastful, we have eliminated this obstacle. We have been working hard to achieve this goal. Now we want to work with some organizations to bring them to market to meet the needs of end users. "
The plastic was collected by residents in Haiti and another location that CCC declined to reveal. In terms of pollution, the recycled plastics of oceanbound are not much different from the HDPE collected in the United States. Schafer points out that given market conditions, these materials may be less contaminated.
The key to the project is CCC and envision's commitment to supply chain logistics to help local people manage the plastics they handle. Shafer said the work included "helping organizations in these areas learn how to identify and collect plastics, how to motivate local residents to collect plastics, how to pack safely, and equally important, how to ensure safe unloading while packing safely.".
