Ink, residue, film and tubes: four company-reported stories on recyclate quality

Four items from the last three weeks (as of 5 November 2026) each address a different point on the path from used pack to recycled content: printing inks, sorting residue, collation film and barrier tubes.

A note on sourcing: most of the technical claims below come from the companies that sell or run the projects (Siegwerk, Sumitomo Chemical and Veolia, the Nivea film partners, EPL). Where trade press has verified a claim independently, we say so; mostly it hasn’t.

The thread: recyclable is ahead of recycled

Under Regulation (EU) 2025/40 (the PPWR), minimum post-consumer recycled content for plastic packaging applies from 1 January 2030, or a set period after the Commission’s implementing act, whichever is later. The minimums then rise sharply by 1 January 2040. A pack can be designed for recycling today and still struggle to hit those numbers if the recyclate is discoloured, smelly or short in supply.

The 2030 minimums are 30% for contact-sensitive PET, 10% for contact-sensitive non-PET, 30% for single-use plastic beverage bottles and 35% for other plastic packaging. By 2040 they become 50%, 25%, 65% and 65% respectively.

PPWR minimum post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging, 2030 and 2040. From 1 Jan 2030 (or later, per implementing act): Contact-sensitive PET 30, Contact-sensitive non-PET 10, Single-use plastic beverage bottles 30, Other plastic packaging 35; From 1 Jan 2040: Contact-sensitive PET 50, Contact-sensitive non-PET 25, Single-use plastic beverage bottles 65, Other plastic packaging 65 (%) — PPWR minimum post-consumer recycled content in plastic packaging, 2030 and 2040
Source: Regulation (EU) 2025/40

The four stories below map onto the gap between those figures and what recyclers can deliver. They are not all EU news (one is from Japan and one from India), but the technical problems are the same ones EU converters face.

Siegwerk’s patent targets ink that survives washing

Siegwerk announced in October 2026 that it holds a new European patent, EP4107326, on deinking technology for plastic packaging. It complements US Patent US12291051B2, granted in May 2025.

According to Ink World, the core is a functional primer placed between the plastic substrate and the print layer. During alkaline washing the primer lets the print layer release, so the ink is removed before the polymer is reprocessed. Label and Narrow Web adds that the patent covers solvent-based and water-based primers, aimed at inks that conventional commercial deinking conditions can’t remove.

The claimed scope matters for flexibles. Siegwerk says the approach works for surface-printed packs and for structures with ink sandwiched between layers. Packaging Insights reports that the validation was done in Siegwerk’s own deinking laboratory and in collaborative projects.

One of those projects, a deinkable mono-material flexible pouch concept, won the German Packaging Award in Gold, per Labels and Labeling. Packaging South Asia places the news in context: ink washability is increasingly reflected in European design-for-recycling criteria for rigid packaging, and recent Ceflex research lists deinking among the technologies needed for flexible packaging recyclate quality, next to advanced washing, delamination, extraction and dissolution.

Who it affects: converters and ink suppliers first, because the primer sits in the print stack. Brand owners with printed PE or PP films get another option to ask for, but the coverage doesn’t say whether the system is licensed to others, what it costs, or how much it changes press settings. A recycler has to run alkaline washing for it to work, which is a condition rather than a given.

Veolia and Sumitomo Chemical put sorting residue to a second use

Veolia Jenets K.K. and Sumitomo Chemical have been selected for Japan’s Ministry of the Environment FY2026 Model Project for Plastic Resource Circulation, according to Sumitomo Chemical’s announcement in late October 2026. The aim is to combine mechanical recycling (MR) and chemical recycling (CR) for plastic containers and packaging.

Waste360 notes that separately collected packaging under Japan’s Containers and Packaging Recycling Act has so far gone to recyclers using either MR or CR as the sole method. In this project, plastics that are hard to process through MR will be routed to CR, and Veolia will develop the sorting and supply scheme. Sumitomo Chemical says conventional MR has reached a recycling rate of only about 50% for collected plastic containers and packaging, and the residues from the MR process are what will go to CR.

Neither the announcement nor the trade coverage gives tonnages, a start date for commercial volumes or a mass-balance method, so treat this as a pilot scheme. This article doesn’t assess how EU rules would count chemically recycled output toward recycled content; that depends on the official text and on acts the Commission still has to adopt.

Who it affects: sorters and recyclers most directly, since the model puts a defined destination on the fraction that mechanical lines reject. For brand owners the point is indirect. Multilayer and heavily contaminated formats are the ones that end up in residue, and a CR outlet doesn’t change whether a pack earns a good recyclability grade.

A 22% recycled shrink film, by four companies

PlasticsToday reports that Nivea, Green Worms, Vardhaman Polypacks and ExxonMobil Signature Polymers developed a collation shrink film with 22% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content for Nivea skincare packaging in India. The partners say it shows improved tensile properties, including elongation and energy to break, against the virgin film it replaces.

Collation film is grouped packaging, not the primary pack, so there is no food or skin contact. If a comparable film were sold in the EU, the 2030 figure that would probably apply is the 35% minimum for other plastic packaging. The 22% shows a starting point rather than a compliant level.

Who it affects: converters and film extruders serving FMCG, plus procurement teams who currently buy virgin collation film by price. The useful detail is the supply chain: a brand, a converter, a recycler-compounder and a resin supplier working on one film. The report doesn’t give the cost premium or volumes.

EPL’s tubes: recyclable share and recycled input

In an interview with The CSR Universe, EPL’s Hariharan K. Nair said recyclable tubes made up 39% of EPL’s tube sales in FY26, up from 33% in FY25. He named scaling high-PCR content and developing structures compatible with the HDPE recycling stream as innovation priorities.

EPL’s Platina range uses an EVOH barrier designed to stay compatible with HDPE recycling. Indian Pharma Post reports that the Etain and r-Platina platforms carry up to 50% and 60% PCR respectively. It also reports that recycled input rose to 566 tonnes in FY2025-26 from 113 tonnes in FY2021-22, and made up 1.12% of total production in FY2025-26. The same article headlines a 43% share of global tube sales for sustainable packaging; that appears to be a broader category than the 39% recyclable figure, and the definitions aren’t spelled out.

Our calculation: 566 t ÷ 113 t = 5.0, so EPL’s recycled input grew about fivefold over four fiscal years, yet it remains near 1% of output.

On EPL’s product page, r-Platina is described as certified by RecyClass with an “A” rating, and as already meeting PPWR requirements for 2038. Grade A fits the 2038 rule that only grades A and B are allowed, but the PPWR’s 65% minimum for other plastic packaging in 2040 is above the 60% the tube offers.

Who it affects: cosmetics, oral care and pharma brands that still use aluminium barrier laminate tubes, and the HDPE recyclers who would receive the tubes. The PPWR’s recyclability grades apply from 1 January 2030, subject to the later-date rule.

The four stories side by side

Story	Jurisdiction	What changed	Who feels it	Status
Siegwerk deinking primer	Europe (patent EP4107326)	Granted patent on primers that release print in alkaline washing	Converters, ink suppliers, film recyclers	Patent granted; validation by Siegwerk and partners
Veolia and Sumitomo Chemical	Japan	MR residues routed to chemical recycling in a government model project	Sorters, recyclers, municipalities	FY2026 model project; no volumes published
Nivea collation film	India	22% PCR shrink film developed by four companies	Film converters, FMCG procurement	Case study by the partners
EPL tubes	Global, with EU certification	Recyclable tubes at 39% of FY26 tube sales; r-Platina up to 60% PCR	Brand owners moving off aluminium laminates, HDPE recyclers	Company figures and RecyClass rating

What it changes in practice

Each story shifts the burden of proof from the pack to the recyclate. A grade on a recyclability scale tells you whether a pack can enter a stream; deinking, residue handling and PCR film performance determine whether the recyclate is worth buying back.

For printed flexibles, ink removal is moving from a footnote to a specification item. For retailers and brand owners with 2030 targets, the EPL numbers are a useful reminder that recyclable share and recycled content move on different timelines.

What to do now

Ask ink and film suppliers whether a deinkable print system exists for your PE or PP structures, and under which washing conditions it was tested, and by whom.
Split your 2030 plan into two columns per pack: recyclability grade and recycled-content share. Compare each against the figures in the regulation’s text.
For grouped and transport film, request a PCR trial with your converter and record mechanical test results against your current virgin film.
If you use aluminium barrier tubes, ask for HDPE-compatible alternatives with RecyClass or APR documentation, and check how the barrier fraction is counted.
Treat chemical recycling claims as unproven for PPWR purposes until the official calculation rules are published. This article is information, not legal advice; check the official text or take legal advice where certainty is needed.

Sources

Header image: illustration, AI-generated.