UPM has announced a cooperation for release liner recovery with the French subsidiary of Aliplast, an Italian company specializing in the collection and treatment of recovered plastic films. This partnership expands Aliplast’s recycling services to polypropylene (PP) and paper-based release liners through UPM Raflatac’s RafCycle waste management program. Aliplast now collects, sorts and distributes all types of release liner to different recycling processes, avoiding landfill or incineration.

Large collection bags are installed by Aliplast for use by self-adhesive label end users like drinks bottlers and companies from the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. Aliplast collects the bags regularly and directs them to its two sorting centers near Strasbourg and Lyon. After sorting, the waste is transported to its final place of re-use.

Polypropylene liners, including UPM Raflatac’s ProLiner PP30, are reused as raw material in the manufacture of wood-plastic composite products at the UPM ProFi factory in Bruchsal, Germany. Other wrapping films are recycled into various packaging products by Aliplast Italy.

Aliplast also collects paper-based release liners for fiber reuse. The recovered paper liners are re-pulped and de-siliconized, and the pulp is used for papermaking at UPM’s paper mills.

Through the partnership with Aliplast, UPM Raflatac says it has extended the reach of its RafCycle concept to even more label end users. This unique service provides a sustainable solution for recycling paper and film release liners, reducing the environmental impact and bringing down waste management costs. By giving release liner a second life, UPM says it is making another advance in the sustainable management of the labelstock lifecycle.