Glass labelling technology to boost recycling yields

Avery Dennison has created a proprietary labelling technology that allows for easy separation of self-adhesive labels from glass pieces, thus facilitating clean glass recycling.

The removal of self-adhesive labels from one-way glass bottles can be a challenge during the glass recycling process, impacting both the quality and availability of recycled material.

Avery Dennison Glass Recycling materials use a unique ‘switchable’ adhesive, which is engineered to facilitate easy label removal from the glass bottle surface in the glass recycling stream.

This adhesive ‘switches off’ during the glass bottle recycling process, to facilitate clean separation of the label from the glass.

Compared to existing self-adhesive solutions, Avery Dennison Glass Recycling can enable the reduction of glass going to landfill to 1.5kg per tonne (versus 40kg), and it can limit label fragment contamination to 2% of label material (versus up to 74%).

Avery Dennison Glass Recycling materials use a self-adhesive technology that helps to solve these challenges, whilst at the same time maintaining shelf appeal.

“Avery Dennison recognises that post-consumer recycling is one of the key elements of sustainable packaging,” comments Vladimir Tyulpin, business development and product manager at Avery Dennison Materials Group Europe.

“Brand owners are striving to make their packaging more sustainable, and to contribute to a circular economy. Such initiatives are important and they can also help businesses to differentiate from the competition, with a positive brand value perception.”

Transitioning to the new labelling material is easy for converters and brand owners, as it does not require investment in new equipment or changes to existing processes.

For single-use bottles, recyclable glass can be contaminated with unwanted label material – with up to 74% of the label material continuing through the recycling stream.

Additionally, for every tonne of glass fragments, up to 40kg can end up in landfill if not cleanly separated from the label material.