Magnomer joins Canada Plastics Pact

Magnomer, a startup based in Framingham, Massachusetts, that creates functional coatings for packaging designed to improve sorting and separation in existing recycling systems, has joined the Canada Plastics Pact (CPP). The company says it is the first inks and coatings company to join the organization, which is made up of a diverse mix of organizations and governments from across Canada’s plastics value chain committed to eliminating plastic waste and pollution while advancing a circular economy for plastics.

Earlier this year, Magnomer announced that it had joined the U.S. Plastics Pact.

Magnomer says it seeks to bring innovative solutions that help brands design for manufacturability and recyclability in a way that works throughout North America.

“We are believers in the power of collaboration to solve global challenges like that of increasing circularity for plastics,” Ravish Majithia, president and CEO of Magnomer, says. “To that end, we are excited to be part of the conversation in Canada and look forward to bringing our perspective around the role of inks and coatings in improving recyclability to the Canada Plastics Pact.”

“We are pleased to see our partnership evolving to include more innovators who are addressing plastic packaging challenges, such as PETG [polyethylene terephthalate glycol], which is currently on our elimination list,” says Cher Mereweather, managing director of the Canada Plastics Pact. “By collaborating with Magnomer, we have the opportunity to develop solutions that transform PETG from a problematic material into one that can be effectively captured and recycled.”

Magnomer’s Magmark SS coatings add magnetization and optical detectability to shrink sleeves, allowing for proper sortation and for the separation of sleeves during the recycling process by magnets already present as part of recycling operations, the company says. Transparent and food safe, Magmark coatings print onto labels at the converter. No changes to branding or design are necessary, and Magmark coatings can be used on PETG or crystallized polyethylene terephthalate, or cPET, films. Magmark SS has received industry recognition from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) based on commercial-scale trials. It also has been prequalified by How2Recycle for use on PETG and can be used in compliance with U.S. Plastics Pact guidelines.