#Recycling / Circular Economy

2022-03-17

New testing facility confirms quality of recycled material

Berry Global’s plastics recycling facility in Heanor, UK, has opened a Centre of Excellence to further enhance the level of quality evaluation of the recycled material that is used to produce the company’s Sustane® recycled polymer.

The new laboratory facility, which complements Berry’s existing testing capabilities, analyses the material composition of incoming scrap material, resulting in a higher quality of recyclate for use in the manufacture of second life products.

This latest service provides added reassurance for customers seeking to incorporate at least 30% recycled material into their plastic packaging to meet the requirements of the forthcoming UK Plastics Tax, as Jagan Mohanraj, Technical Director, Berry Global, explained:

“Following Berry Heanor’s successful EUCertPlast accreditation, this new investment in our recycling laboratory facilities helps to ensure the consistency and quality of our Sustane grades, giving our customers the confidence that the performance of their packaging will not be compromised in any way by the inclusion of recycled material. This is particularly essential for packaging used in heavy duty applications such as collation shrink film and collection sacks. The Centre of Excellence exemplifies our Berry promise – bringing innovation for the world and added value solutions for our customers.”

The Centre of Excellence was officially opened by local MP Nigel Mills, who commented:

“I have kept in regular contact with the Berry Heanor site in the heart of my constituency since I was first elected an MP in 2010, and have always been impressed with their drive and determination to increase both volumes of recycled plastics produced at Heanor, as well as the commitment to achieve the highest product quality standards. The opening of these new testing facilities is a further example of Berry’s work to achieving true circulatory for plastic packaging, and this is indeed good news both for the environment and the economy of the East Midlands.”

The establishment of the Centre of Excellence follows Berry Heanor’s achieving of the European Certificate for Plastics Recycling (EUCertPlast). EUCertPlast certification, which works to the European Standard EN 15343:2007, demonstrates that best practices are being followed throughout the recycling process for pre- and post-consumer waste in terms of stock management of incoming waste, recycling process, quality management, staff training and qualifications, traceability in supply chain and environmental protection. The chain of custody provides full details of the origins of the waste material and the waste management company from which it was sourced.

“The opening of our Centre for Excellence underlines our commitment to produce recycled material, using our advanced expertise, with the highest levels of technical performance, consistency, quality and traceability,” concluded Jagan Mohanraj. “This enables us to help customers towards meet their sustainability commitments, while still creating packaging solutions that are fit for purpose.”

Berry’s Sustane® is a range of premium sustainable polymers made from recycled plastic. The material, which is unique to Berry, delivers a high level of technical performance, making it suitable for use in a wide range of applications where previously prime polymer was used.

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.

The textile industry in transition

Recycling, traceability, eco-design and digitalisation are among the key future challenges facing the European textile industry. The Erasmus+ project Skills4Circularity, involving 21 partners from twelve countries, is investigating the skills required to address these challenges. As the German industry partner, the Industry Association for Finishing – Yarns – Fabrics – Technical Textiles (IVGT) is bringing the industry’s perspective to the project.

2026 general meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen at ITA

The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board. Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

The future of the athletic shoe is increasingly being shaped on warp knitting machines. For KARL MAYER, the footwear industry is one of the most important growth markets – and one of the sectors where innovative textiles can realize their full potential. In his keynote address at the opening of KARL MAYER’s TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER in Obertshausen in April, Vishnu Prakash Muthusamy, Senior Textile and Materials Engineer at New Balance, explained the opportunities that warp knitting technology opens up for performance, sustainability, and faster development processes, and why textile manufacturers are transitioning from suppliers to development partners.