#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-11-10

Third-party accreditations underline Berry's recycling commitment

As part of its commitment to support customers in the drive towards a circular economy and reduction in carbon footprint, Berry Global’s European flexible films division is adopting a standard approach to substantiate its recycled content claims, including for its Sustane® range of premium sustainable polymers made from 100% recycled plastic.

Berry is obtaining independent accreditation via EUCertPlast and RecyClass to ensure complete integrity, consistency, transparency, traceability and accurate accounting.

The third-party accreditations will provide customers with full reassurance as to the quality and authenticity of the recycled content present in Berry products. They form a key part of the company’s ambitious target to include at least 30% recycled content across its flexible films product range by 2025, as well as the group-wide commitment to include at least 10% post-consumer recycled (PCR) in all its packaging products by the same date.

“As the use of recycled material increases across Europe, third party accreditation will play a vital role in ensuring the necessary transparency and consistency,” commented Tony Nawar. VP Sustainability, Strategy & Innovation, Berry Packaging Solutions. “This is why we are actively accrediting both our sites and our products through recognised and respected bodies.”

EUCertPlast certification, which works to the European Standard EN 15343:2007, confirms that best practices are being followed throughout the recycling process for pre- and post-consumer waste. It covers stock management of incoming waste, the recycling process, quality management, staff training and qualifications, traceability in the supply chain and environmental protection. For complete customer peace of mind, the chain of custody provides full details of the origins of the waste material and the waste management company from which it was sourced.

Berry’s three recycling operations at Heanor and Dumfries in the UK, and Steinfeld in Germany, have already achieved EUCertPlast accreditation for all the different recycled grades produced across these facilities, including the market leading Sustane®. The remainder of the company’s flexible film manufacturing and recycling facilities are currently undergoing the accreditation process.

RecyClass, which also works to EN 15343:2007, is a comprehensive cross-industry initiative that advances plastic packaging recyclability and ensures traceability and transparency of recycled plastic content in Europe. RecyClass recycled content certification provides independent confirmation of the reliability of recycled content claims for individual products, again delivering customer reassurance.

Berry products which have already achieved RecyClass certification include Sustane® Form Fill and Seal Petro products manufactured at its site in Hardenberg, the Netherlands.

“The availability of high-quality circular resins is critical to companies as they seek to introduce more sustainable packaging to satisfy legislative requirements and consumer demand,” said Tony Nawar.

“By committing to independent, third-party accreditations for all our recycled materials, we can effectively demonstrate their quality and validity as we work with our customers in the development of appropriate solutions.”

For more information about Berry Circular Polymers, visit:

https://www.berryglobal.com/en/sustainability/berry-circular-polymers.

Berry and Glatfelter name new nonwovens heavyweight Magnera

Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE: BERY) and Glatfelter Corporation (NYSE: GLT) announced that the proposed merger of Berry's Health, Hygiene and Specialties Global Nonwovens and Films (“HHNF”) business with Glatfelter progressed further today with the creation of the Magnera brand (pronounced ‘Mag-nair-uh’), a global leader in the specialty materials industry.

HKRITA signs MoU with Jeanologia and Looptworks to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) yesterday officially signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two key global partners, Jeanologia and Looptworks, to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem – a first-of-its-kind collaboration to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles.

Object Carpet tests production of rPET BCF yarn on Neumag BCF line

In a joint project with Object Carpet GmbH, Denkendorf; the Institute for Textile Technology (ITA), Augsburg; and Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR), Feldkirchen, Austria, Barmag investigated the processing of recycled polyester for BCF yarn. The goal was to evaluate the fundamental suitability of 100% recycled carpet material for reuse in carpet yarn production to create a closed-loop system in carpet manufacturing. To date, commercial rPET BCF processes have been based solely on rPET from bottle pellets.

Albany International reports progress with Cyclezyme on industrial textile recycling project

Albany International Corp. (NYSE:AIN) reports continued progress in the ongoing project with Cyclezyme AB, a leader in advanced enzyme-based plastic recycling, based in Sweden. The project exemplifies leading edge innovation in materials science, focusing on the development of enzyme-based recycling of industrial textiles primarily consisting of polyester and polyamide, where there is currently a significant lack of effective solutions for circular material flows. The objective of the project is to establish enzymatic processes for depolymerization and recycling of technical textiles and high-performance industrial materials.

EDANA announces five new board members following 2026 Annual General Meeting

The EDANA Board of Governors is elected or re-elected at the Annual General Meeting by the member companies. The Governors are senior executives (business leaders) from member companies, based in different countries and representing different sectors of the nonwovens industry. The Board has central responsibility for guiding EDANA's overall strategy and approving its policies and priorities. It meets three times a year.

Cotton made in Africa partners receive top marks in independent verifications

Cotton made in Africa® (CmiA) and CmiA Organic are two internationally recognised standards that aim to promote sustainable development in the African cotton sector south of the Sahara. To ensure the standards’ credibility among brands, retailers, and consumers, independent verifiers evaluate compliance on the ground. The verification results for 2025, now published in the Aggregated Verification & Implementation Report, were very strong: The verifiers awarded consistently very good remarks regarding management, people, prosperity, and the environment.

Bangladesh: Italian textile machinery mission stops in Dhaka and Chittagong

Technological upgrading and the transition toward higher value-added production are driving the new Italian industrial mission to Bangladesh. This year, the mission will split between the country’s two main manufacturing hubs, where Italian manufacturers will meet the leaders of the local textile supply chain in two strategic stages: July 7th in Dhaka and July 9th in Chittagong.