Sustainability is in vogue. The topic of recycling is of great importance in this context. This now also covers areas that you may not yet associate with sustainability aspects.

Have you ever thought about how many labels are in use once? A single manufacturing company for certain products may already use billions of labels. Many of these labels are petroleum-based.

With the single use of these mass-used products, the question of scarce resources quickly arises. Many label manufacturers are now thinking the same thing and are promoting label recycling. We have compiled the current state of affairs for you in this article.

How are labels constructed?

Classic labels have a three-level structure. They consist of:

• Carrier material
• Adhesive
• Upper material

The face material is crucial for printing the information. For potential label recycling, the question of whether the face material can be recycled is particularly exciting. A plastic-based film is often used here when there are high requirements for the resistance of the label.

Behind plastic is the scarce resource petroleum. Label recycling is interesting, among other things, so that this scarce material can be recycled. You will see that this is already possible to a certain extent today.

In addition, the focus is on the liner material when it comes to recycling. Large quantities of this are produced in the industrial labeling of products.

Adhesives, on the other hand, can hardly be recycled. They are also not of economic interest in production. However, you will find out why the face material and liner can be so economically interesting for recycling when you take a closer look at the label material.

Until now, only the face and liner materials of labels have been recyclable. The waste volume of these two components alone are reason enough for label recycling.

What materials are labels made of?

Label materials are selected according to the products for which they are used. In some areas, the requirements for resistance to external influences are particularly high. This is an important aspect in the pharmaceutical industry and other regulated industries, for example.

Here, the labels must be as durable as possible, resistant and remain legible under external stresses. Plastic films such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polypropylene (PP) perform particularly well from this point of view.

In other areas, paper and cardboard labels can meet the lower requirements for resilience. Labels also differ in how their outer appearance is. Some are glossy, some matte, some coated, some uncoated.

Some labels have very special properties such as thermosensitivity. If particularly stable labels are required, multilayer composite materials are used for the face films. Then the face material also consists of several layers.

The backing material for labels is composed of paper and a coating of silicone. The silicone release liner is important to protect the labels during production and transportation to the customer. Precisely speaking, it is about protecting the adhesive layer.

The release liner is peeled off before gluing. For a company that glues millions and billions of labels, this means that liner waste of the corresponding magnitude is produced.

How is label waste generated?

Label waste is generated in two ways in particular:

• Once by peeling off the backing material when gluing the label.
• The second time by consumption of the supplied product or when replacing a label with a new one.

One time it is about label recycling for the face material, the other time it is about recycling for the backing paper. Due to the different material properties, the different label wastes also have different recycling requirements.

Label recycling in the narrower sense is concerned in particular with the reusability of the liner waste. These are produced directly in the labeling processes on a large scale. Therefore, they can also be fed into a recycling process when collected.

Where the labeled products end up is another question. In many cases, they will end up at the end consumer or in another company. Here, the extent to which label recycling is carried out as part of the overall product depends on further players. There are complex hurdles to overcome in the entire field of waste recycling.

In many areas, product labels cannot be removed in their entirety. This effect is desired in the case of medicines, for example, in order to ensure counterfeit protection. The extent to which label recycling is ultimately an option for the face material here is difficult to answer.

Can label waste be recycled?

Different processes and techniques are used for label recycling.

1. recycling of liner waste
In order to recycle liner paper, the silicone must first be separated from the paper. Special processes are available for this purpose. The remaining paper is fed into recycling processes.

It can be recycled like any other paper. In label recycling, it is not only the recycling process as such that is important. For reasons of economy, the waste produced must be collected and often taken to other locations where recycling processes are available.

In many cases, the carrier paper waste is shredded in a first step for easier transport. This is a similar process to shredding documents in a paper shredder.

2.recycling of upper material

These recycling processes depend on the material in question. Paper can be recycled in a similar way to the base material.

Complex processes are necessary for plastics. Among other things, a distinction is made between chemical and mechanical recycling. While mechanical recycling is predominantly used today, chemical recycling has not yet been able to establish itself on a large scale.

Mechanical recycling stands for the reduction and melting down of plastic articles into so-called recyclates. These can serve as the basis for new plastic products.

Chemical recycling uses techniques that have a high energy consumption. Therefore, these processes are not yet fully convincing in terms of economic efficiency and environmental compatibility.

One aspect of label recycling should not be overlooked: The liner waste is generated directly when the labels are glued to products. After labeling, the products reach different addressees. If you like, they fully enter the product traffic. The recycling of plastics in labels is therefore not a 1:1 process that takes place in one place.

Rather, it depends on the extent to which products are later transferred to a recycling process for plastics. Whether, when and how this happens depends on many other circumstances. Primarily, it requires a high level of awareness for recycling at all levels of product consumption.

The recycling of the face material is complex because the labels are associated with a product. Techniques and processes are available for recycling plastics and paper. Potentially, label recycling can thus extend to the essential parts of the label.

 

To what extent are recycled labels already being used?

More and more label producers are offering recycled labels. They are now even reaching regulated sectors such as the pharmaceutical industry. Currently, no statistics can be mapped that document the use of recycled labels. If one examines the range of products offered by the major label manufacturers, no reputable company is doing without recycled labels.

What are the advantages of recycled labels?

Labels meet the expectation of an increasingly environmentally conscious society. From a marketing point of view, it is almost essential to have recycled labels in the range. They give a good feeling at all levels when using labeled products. This is especially true for the end consumer. Many sectors and industries therefore use the recycling effect for their marketing activities.

In the medium and long term, there is another aspect: oil-based products have their price. Further price increases can be expected here as resources become increasingly scarce. No society and no industry can afford to waste plastics in disposable products in the long term. This also applies to labels. Recycling is already becoming an aspect that can help determine competitiveness, and not just for marketing reasons.

Contact us for the latest information on sustainability and our products! We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Conclusion: A look into the future

The careful use of resources and the use of sustainable materials are becoming increasingly important. Here, the trend is moving away from single use to recycling.

It is therefore to be expected that label recycling will become the norm in the foreseeable future. This applies primarily to liner waste, which is generated on a large scale by many market players directly when it is first used for labels. How label recycling ultimately develops, however, depends on further developments.

In addition, end consumers need to be more mindful. They should take care to dispose of plastic and paper waste properly. This is the only way they can be recycled in the right cycle.

As more resources become scarce, however, the pressure from legislators is also likely to increase. The demands on effectiveness will not only increase for label recycling.

The future looks like this for you: You feed labels solo or with products to recycling cycles and/or maintain appropriate recycling processes yourself as an industry participant.

FAQ

1. Can labels be recycled?

   Recycling processes are available today for the common materials used for the backing and face material. Paper labels are the easiest to recycle. More complex processes are required for plastics. Recycling does not fail because of unavailable technologies.

2. Will label recycling be the norm in the future?

   This can be assumed. Scarce resources and image reasons are already forcing label manufacturers to address the issue of label recycling. Most major companies already offer recycled labels. Demand for recycled products will continue to grow. Social and economic pressures continue.

3. Can improvements still be made in label recycling?

   The processes and techniques can always be optimized. In plastics recycling, there is still a need for more efficient methods. To what extent chemical recycling will prevail remains to be seen.