Environment

At UPM Raflatac we understand that we have responsibilities both to society and the planet. When the company was founded in the 1970s, we created new technology that drew on environmentally sound, water-based emulsion alternatives to replace solvent adhesives. As production volumes continued rising and the technology behind our products developed in parallel with market demand, solventless silicone technology made it possible to add hotmelt adhesives to our product range.  

Labelstock waste, recycling, energy recovery and disposal

Paper labelstock and label waste

It isn’t feasible to recycle labelstock and label waste. Large volumes of sticky adhesive are problematic for paper mills. Label waste can be used as an alternative fuel for energy recovery, however, and UPM Raflatac uses this method in its factories. According to our calculations, 2 lbs of label waste generates about 17.5 MJ of energy, with an ash content of about 15%. The energy corresponds to approximately 0.77 lbs of fuel oil.

UPM Raflatac is working on exciting alternative uses for labelstock waste. In the new UPM ProFi project, labelstock waste is combined with plastic to make a composite material suitable for patios and other decking.

Labeled packages

Labeled packages can be recycled if the label content is low. According to our estimates, the level of adhesive has to be below 0.01%, or 5 m² of labels per ton of waste, in order to minimize subsequent problems in paper machines. The actual level, however, depends on the cleaning technique and the requirements of the end product.

Film labels

According to The Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers, there are more than 1800 businesses in North America involved in recycling post-consumer plastics. To optimize the recyclability of a plastic container, the label should either be compatible with the container resin, or be effectively removed in the plastic flake wash process. As a general rule, polyolefins (PE and PP) can be combined in recycled resin. PET and PS labels are best recycled when applied to PET and PS packages, respectively. Paper labels applied to plastic packages typically turn to pulp and can be filtered in wash water although many recyclers report paper carryover into recycled resin. Due to its higher density, PET material typically sinks in PE and PP wash processes and can be removed from the recycling stream. PVC labels are undesirable in most plastic recycling processes when applied to non-PVC containers.

Siliconized release liner

In North America, paper mills report that the silicone coating on release liners interferes with the repulping process, and they generally do not accept siliconized release liners for recycling. Plastics recycling facilities have reported successful processing of film release liners. However, thorough testing and approval at individual recycling facilities is recommended to establish the feasibility of recycling film release liners.

Biodegradability

EN13432 concerns the composting and biodegradation of packaging. A PDF detailing the current situation is available at the bottom of this page.

Packaging waste

European Directive 94/62/EC concerns packaging waste, and as labels belong to the packaging industry, they must comply with this legislation. For further information about the possible effects of this legislation on your business, please seek local advice. Information about conformance to legislation limiting heavy metal content is detailed in the PDF at the bottom of this page.