Enval project targets aluminum in laminate packaging

Technology provided by United Kingdom-based Enval Limited will be used in a trial designed to assess the feasibility of including flexible laminate packaging, such as food and drink pouches, pet food pouches and toothpaste tubes, in residential recycling programs. The project is being conducted by Enval in partnership with Anthesis LRS, Suez Environnement, Nestlé UK & Ireland and Coca-Cola Enterprises.

Funded by the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) Action Based Research program, the nine-month trial began in mid-February 2015, according to Enval. The collections and initial sorting are being managed by Suez Environnement and Enval will recycle the material at its commercial demonstration facility in the Alconbury Enterprise Zone near Huntingdon, England.

The trial will cover 260 households in Bracknell Forest Council, the London Borough of Hounslow and Calderdale Council. Different methods of engaging with residents and collecting the material at the curbside are being tested. The results of the trials will help determine best practices to increase the amount of flexible laminate packaging collected and recycled in England, according to Enval Managing Director Carlos Ludlow-Palafox. The trials also will provide insight into how different communications approaches, consumer behavior and brands influence collection models across different demographics, says Ludlow-Palafox.

“These trials are providing an important opportunity to prove that we can successfully capture and recycle the valuable aluminum, as well as recover the plastics as a fuel oil product,” remarks Ludlow-Palafox. “This will present a solid business case for Enval’s microwave-induced pyrolysis technology to be bolted on to existing materials facilities and help increase levels of recycling across the U.K.”

The U.K. uses more than 160,000 metric tons of flexible laminate packaging each year, containing more than 17,000 metric tons of aluminum, according to a news release from Cambridge, England-based Enval. With a recycling solution, a life cycle analysis indicates it to be a sustainable form of packaging and a commercial opportunity with a potential revenue stream of approximately £200 million ($295 million) per year in Europe from the sale of aluminum alone, according to Enval.

The patented Enval process is based on a technology known as microwave induced pyrolysis, in which microwave energy is used to heat and degrade plastics into pyrolysis oils. The aluminum foil can then be extracted so that it is clean and ready to be reintroduced into the aluminum supply chain, says Ludlow-Palafox. Life cycle analysis shows the aluminum obtained via the process has a carbon footprint 72 percent lower than that of primary aluminum.

Says DEFRA Resource Management Minister Dan Rogerson, “DEFRA is pleased to support this project, which is part of the government’s wider approach to enabling businesses to be more sustainable. I look forward to seeing the results of these innovative studies that could lead to us extracting more value from our resources.”

Stuart Hayward-Higham, technical development director with Suez Environnement, adds, “The outcomes of the trials will enable project partners and other industry stakeholders to evaluate the potential to include flexible laminate packaging in mainstream recycling collections in the U.K, which Suez Environnement is keen to explore.”