Quinn Packaging launches’fully recyclable’black plastic food trays

摘要

Ireland-based Quinn Packaging has launched black plastic food trays which it says are fully identifiable in sorting systems.Endorsed by the Irish packaging recovery compliance scheme,the Detecta black PET food trays could potentially ensure black plastic does not end up in landfill.With Material Recovery Facilities(MRF's) using Near-lnfra-Red(NIR) optical sorting equipment to identify and sort various plastic waste streams including PET plastic,standard black PET trays absorb the infra-red beams making them invisible to the sorting system with the result they cannot be identified and removed for recycling.Mark McKenna,general manager at Quinn Packaging,which manufacturers rigid and flexible thermoformed food packaging and supplies in Ireland and across the UK,told Packaging News it was common practice in the plastics industry to use colour additives derived from carbon black pigment when items are to be produced in black.”Carbon Black pigment hinders this polymer detection by absorbing the light.Nothing is reflected to the detectors so the equipment effectively doesn't see anything.The trays are essentially invisible.”In the case of the Detecta range there is no carbon black pigment included.Instead the black colour is achieved by blending primary and secondary colour pigments together to achieve black.By using this solution the NIR light both passes through and reflects off of the tray surface resulting in the packaging being fully visible to sorting systems.”