Axion Consulting is leading the collaborative R&D project, called Reflex. The partners include: Amcor, Dow Chemical, Interflex Group, Nestlé UK, SITA Holdings, Tomra Sorting and Unilever UK Central Resources.
The two-year project is co-funded by the UK's innovation agency, Innovate UK.
Research so far has focused on exploring and evaluating alternatives to previously difficult to recycle multi-layer films, which are potentially more suitable for recycling and yet still deliver the performance requirements and technical properties needed for products ranging from confectionery to detergent.
Axion's project engineer Richard McKinlay says the group has taken multi-layer packaging structures that currently use incompatible polymers and redesigned them using polymers, which can potentially be recycled together.
