Coperion receives Food and Drug Administration approval for food-grade plastics recycling
Coperion has received a Letter of No Objection from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) recycling technology, confirming that its mechanical recycling process can produce recycled materials suitable for direct contact with food.
According to Coperion, the FDA determined that the combination of the company's twin screw extruders and EcoFresh silo degassing system meets the requirements for manufacturing recycled HDPE and recycled PP intended for food-contact applications.
The validated process supports production capacities ranging from small-scale operations to 6,000 kilograms per hour. Coperion said the required level of decontamination was demonstrated through a challenge test reviewed by the FDA.
The approval allows recycled HDPE from items such as milk jugs and beverage bottles to be used in new food packaging. Recycled PP from products including yogurt containers, trays, cups, and other food packaging can also be processed into new food-contact packaging.
According to Coperion, the recycling process begins with gravimetric feeding of post-consumer plastic into a twin-screw extruder, where the material is melted, mixed, homogenized, and degassed. After melt filtration removes solid contaminants, the material is pelletized before undergoing a second decontamination stage in the EcoFresh silo degassing system.
Stefan Lachenmayer, Global Commercial Director Recycling at Coperion, said the FDA's Letter of No Objection allows recycled high-density polyethylene and recycled polypropylene produced with the company's technology to be used in new food packaging at levels up to 100 percent for approved food-contact applications.
Coperion also said recyclers can evaluate the complete decontamination process at its Recycling Innovation Center using production material streams. Working with the Herbold Meckesheim Test Center, the company can replicate the full recycling process, including raw material grinding, cleaning, extrusion, and decontamination.