Starlinger unveils the cement bag of the future
Block bottom valve bags made of woven plastic are not only a tear and moisture-resistant packaging for dry bulk goods – they are also becoming an increasingly sustainable packaging alternative in this sector.
“With our packaging technology, we want to promote the growing focus on sustainability in the industrial sector and offer packaging manufacturers innovative and viable solutions,” explains Hermann Adrigan, Head of Sales at Starlinger. “At K 2022 in October we have introduced our AD*STAR* block bottom valve sacks with 22% recycled content on our new sack conversion line ad*starKON SXneo. In this way, we want to show that it is possible to use recycled material in woven plastic packaging, which is manufactured in a complex process, without having to accept a loss of quality. Starlinger customers are even producing high-performance packaging such as big bags with recycled polypropylene on our lines.”
In addition, Starlinger’s new, patented gripTEC technology can increase the coefficient of friction on the bag surface to significantly reduce slipping of stacked bags. This lowers the risk of personal injury from bags slipping down, and saves tonnes of bulk material and packaging. What is more, the CO2 generated during replacement production is eliminated – another contribution to sustainability.
Closing packaging cycles
Starlinger lines can produce and process woven fabric not only with recycled polypropylene (rPP), but also with recycled PET. “As a member of the Austrian platform “Verpackung mit Zukunft” (Packaging with a Future), creating closed cycles for plastic packaging is of particular importance to us,” says Adrigan. “Our circular packaging concept paves the way for a closed packaging cycle in the industrial sector. Industrial packaging such as big bags made of woven polypropylene are equipped with a material passport that allows tracing of their life cycle from production and use to return and recycling. This means that new big bags can be made from used big bags without quality loss, and the packaging cycle can be closed.” Big bags with rPP content produced by Starlinger customers will be on display at the Starlinger stand. The initiative “Verpackung mit Zukunft” will also be represented at the Starlinger stand, providing information to interested parties on the topic of circular economy.
Woven bags and big bags made of PET: Perfectly recyclable
Mono-material packaging made of PET is virtually made for recycling: In the recycling process, this material can be processed in such a way that it has the properties of virgin material – including food grade quality – and can be recycled repeatedly. With the technology for producing tape fabric from PET and rPET, Starlinger has harnessed this major benefit for woven packaging and is the only supplier to offer this process. PET tape fabric is high-strength, food grade, has excellent creep resistance and can be made from 100% recycled material. As with bottle-to-bottle recycling, this enables “bag-to-bag” recycling and closes the packaging cycle. This not only lowers raw material requirements, but also CO2 emissions and energy consumption. Both PET and rPET tape fabrics have already been used successfully in the production of big bags. Due to their excellent dimensional stability, PET big bags are ideal for long-term storage of bulk goods and provide a cost-effective alternative to octabins and cardboard cylinders. As a monomaterial solution, they can be recycled easily after use and can be reprocessed as often as desired.
