SMART PACKAGING | PROCESSING
Smart packaging helps improve track and trace
Industry schemes like
R-Cycle can help producers of plastic packaging – and other products – to apply a
‘digital passport’ in order to improve circularity
Packaging that can be traced from the start to end of its life is a key concept in recycling – and in smart packaging – and has recently taken another step forward. At Fakuma recently, R-Cycle – a consortium of plastics companies looking to improve recycling – unveiled new software that they say can be used to apply digital product passports (DPPs) to plastics items such as packaging. R-Cycle says this is the first software-as-a-service solution for applying DPPs, based on the new GS1 Germany Guideline ‘Circular Plastics Traceability’. “With the help of the DPP, R-Cycle provides
plastic products with all relevant information about their composition and use during production,” said Benedikt Brenken, director of R-Cycle. “This means every subsequent processor, consumer and recycler can use this data to fulfill information and reporting obligations, optimise production processes and ensure the best possible recycling.”
Global standard R-Cycle is based on open, global GS1 standards. It offers those in the plastics value chain a uniform framework for modelling cross-company processes and exchanging data. R-Cycle was involved in the development of ‘Circular Plastics Traceability’, along with other partners. The underlying technology is the cross-industry GS1 Electronic Product Code Information Services
www.filmandsheet.com
(EPCIS) interface. GS1 is a global network for cross-industry process development. The best- known example of a GS1 standard is the barcodes that are used in global trade. Bernd Reifenhäuser, CEO of Reifenhäuser – an
R-Cycle founder – said: “Publication of the Circular Plastics Traceability guideline is a milestone for the establishment of R-Cycle. It gives us – as a machine manufacturer – the certainty of investing in a future-proof technology that enables our custom- ers to use standardised DPPs.” A DPP for plastic products and packaging enables relevant data to be stored in an interoper- able system – allowing efficient, standardised and secure data exchange across company boundaries. Relevant information – such as materials, product properties and process data – can be recorded in the R-Cycle DPP. DPPs generated in this way can be retrieved by machine or manually via suitable markings (such as QR codes or digital watermarks) on primary and end products.
Fingerprint trace Also at Fakuma this year, German company Polysecure showed its Track by Stars technology – which allows forgery detection as well as product tracking.
It showcased the technology on the stands of
Roechling and Arburg during the show. The technology relies on high-contrast fluorescent
November 2023 | FILM & SHEET EXTRUSION 35
Main image: R-Cycle’s DPP provides relevant information on plastic packaging products
IMAGE: R-CYCLE
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