The potential of Avery Dennison liner recycling initiatives has been confirmed as Belgian label converter Reynders_Label Printing recently signed up for the new paper liner recycling program, initiated by Avery Dennison and operated by Smurfit Kappa.

“With an annual disposal of more than 300,000 ton of liner waste in Europe, there is significant potential for this recycling program”, says Xander van der Vlies, sustainability director at Avery Dennison Materials Group. “With the right discipline and with all members of the value chain taking ownership, liner recycling will decrease the overall carbon footprint and avoid the disposal costs of the liner.”

Through the Avery Dennison paper liner recycling program, Reynders offers a collection system to its end users, picking up their siliconised paper liner waste and combining it with other paper and corrugated board waste streams. Johan Lievens, Quality Assurance manager at Reynders states that recycling is a growing business priority and the new arrangement offers significant benefits: “We know where the material is being processed and Smurfit Kappa certifies that all our paper waste – including the siliconised paper liner – is recycled into the production of new corrugated board.”

Leon Graff, Managing Director of Smurfit Kappa Recycling Benelux, acknowledges: “Making use of our existing collection infrastructure and combining the liner-waste collection with other paper- or corrugated board waste categories, enables us to reach the critical mass needed to handle the complex logistics around liner recycling.” Similar to other recycling programs, the liner waste has to meet certain quality conditions for our recycling process.

The Avery Dennison-Smurfit Kappa Recycling program is not only available in the Benelux but also in Germany and the UK. More label converters and brand owners are invited to participate in this environmental as well as economical beneficial program.