Recycle factory scrap into certified circular packaging

Submitted through the COP31 Sustainable Transformation Awards · SKD Türkiye (WBCSD Global Network Partner)

The company manufactures flexible packaging in Türkiye and employs more than 1,000 people, converting polyethylene film into printed bags for consumer goods markets.

Polyethylene conversion generates plastic waste on the industrial side of the process. Start-up material, edge trim, reel ends and rejected production can provide known-grade, pre-consumer polyethylene feedstock that can be recovered and reprocessed for use in film production through a qualified recycling route.

At the same time, evolving customer expectations and regulatory requirements were increasing the focus on two properties: packaging designed for recyclability and packaging incorporating recycled material. Meeting both in a hygiene bag that has to run on high-speed automatic equipment presents additional technical challenges.

For post-industrial recycled material, traceability and availability are important considerations. A recycled-content claim requires an auditable route from the originating production scrap through recycling to the finished product. In this initiative, the availability of recycled feedstock is linked to the quantity of suitable internal production scrap available for recycling, which needs to be considered when planning recycled-content levels.

The solution, developed in 2024, was a recyclable mono-material polyethylene wicket bag containing 50% post-industrial recycled polyethylene, supported by certification of both the recycled content and the recycling process behind it, and applied at commercial scale for an international hygiene products manufacturer.

Location of the initiative: Türkiye, supplying an international hygiene products manufacturer

The product combines a recyclable mono-material polyethylene structure with 50% post-industrial recycled polyethylene. The PE structure is designed for compatibility with polyethylene recycling streams, replacing an equivalent share of virgin polyethylene with recycled content.

What characterises this route is the origin of the recycled material. Post-industrial recyclate originates from industrial production rather than from material collected after consumer use. In this initiative, suitable internal production scrap is recovered and reprocessed as recycled polyethylene feedstock. The availability of this feedstock is therefore linked to the quantity of suitable production scrap available for recycling.

Certification is arranged in two complementary layers. The origin of the post-industrial feedstock and its share in the finished bag are verified by an independent third party under the RecyClass Recycled Plastics Traceability Certification scheme, while the recycling process that converts the scrap into usable film-grade material is separately certified under the RecyClass Recycling Process Certification scheme. Together, these certifications provide third-party certification covering both recycled-content traceability and the recycling process.

The material substitution is assessed by comparing the 50% recycled-content structure with a reference structure made entirely from virgin polyethylene. The amount of PIR incorporated into the product provides the basis for reporting the corresponding reduction in virgin polyethylene use.

Because the recycled share is a specification parameter rather than a fixed property of the structure, the same platform can be produced at other recycled-content levels. That makes the design a basis for hygiene, personal care, home care and other polyethylene-based applications rather than a single customer article.

Figure 1: The closed loop: production scrap is recycled in-house under certified process control and returns as half the polymer weight of the finished bag.

Figure 2: Polyethylene film production, the process that both generates the scrap and consumes the recycled feedstock.

Sustainability Impact

Climate

The change is made in the raw material rather than in the energy used to produce it. Substituting post-industrial recycled polyethylene for virgin polyethylene alters the emissions embodied in purchased polymer, which belongs in Scope 3 rather than in the Scope 1 and Scope 2 inventory of the converting operation.

The reported effect is expressed as material substitution: in 2025, approximately 240 tonnes of post-industrial recycled polyethylene were consumed in this product, and an equivalent quantity of virgin polyethylene was not.

The applicable GHG Protocol Scope 3 category is Category 1 – Purchased Goods and Services. A project-specific CO2e reduction has not been calculated; accordingly, the impact is reported as material substitution rather than as avoided emissions.

Nature

In 2025, the plant produced approximately 479 tonnes of mono-material polyethylene wicket bags containing 50% post-industrial recycled polyethylene, incorporating approximately 240 tonnes of recycled feedstock into the products.

Industrial plastic waste was recovered through the company's recycling route and incorporated into a high-specification packaging application, reducing the quantity of virgin fossil-based polyethylene required for the product.

The recyclable single-polymer design extends the potential benefit beyond the use of recycled content. The bag is designed to remain compatible with polyethylene recycling streams at end of life, supporting its potential recycling where appropriate collection and recycling systems are available.

Social

The two-step certification structure provides independent support for the recycled-content claim and the recycling process. Certification of recycled-content traceability and the recycling process provides customers and other stakeholders with independently assessed evidence rather than relying solely on self-declaration.

Demonstrating the use of recycled polyethylene at commercial volume in a demanding hygiene packaging application provides a practical example of the use of post-industrial recycled material in high-performance flexible packaging.

Results are monitored through production records, while recycled-content and traceability claims are supported by independent third-party certification. Relevant results can also support the company's sustainability reporting.

Business Impact

Benefits

Recovering production scrap for use in saleable products converts suitable production scrap into recycled feedstock, reducing the quantity of virgin polymer required for the product and returning production scrap to productive use.

In this initiative, the post-industrial feedstock originates from internal production scrap, providing a known source of material for recycling. Its availability is linked to the quantity of suitable production scrap generated, which is taken into account when planning recycled-content production.

The work also produced a product platform rather than one article. The technical knowledge, process optimisation and quality verification method developed here can be adapted to other polyethylene-based packaging, and the recycled share can be varied to suit what each customer requires.

Certification of both recycled-content traceability and the recycling process supports recycled-content claims with independent certification evidence.

Costs

The main implementation effort relates to product development and validation rather than the installation of new production assets. Structure development, validation runs and machine trials require equipment time and material before commercial production begins.

Certification is a continuing cost with two components here, since both the traceability of the recycled content and the recycling process itself are certified and periodically re-audited, each with its own documentation and evidence requirements.

The recycling operation that turns production scrap into film-grade material has to be run to a certified standard, which requires sorting discipline at source, segregation of polymer streams and controlled reprocessing rather than informal reuse of scrap.

The availability of PIR feedstock in this initiative is linked to the quantity of suitable internal production scrap generated and available for recycling. This needs to be considered when planning production volumes and recycled-content levels.

Costs are contained by implementing the solution using existing extrusion and converting assets rather than requiring new production equipment. A project-specific investment, unit cost impact and payback period were not separately quantified.

Impact Beyond Sustainability And Business

Co-benefits

Segregating and reprocessing production scrap to a certified standard improves internal material discipline generally, because polymer streams have to be separated at source and losses become visible as a raw material issue rather than as a waste cost.

Demonstrating certified recycled content at commercial volume builds confidence between recyclate suppliers, brand owners and converters, which is a precondition for recycled feedstock being specified rather than tolerated.

The platform is adaptable to personal care, home care and other polyethylene-based packaging, so the qualification work carried out for one hygiene article shortens the path for subsequent product groups.

Potential side-effects

The availability of PIR feedstock in this initiative is linked to the quantity of suitable internal production scrap generated and available for recycling. This needs to be considered when planning recycled-content levels.

A recycled stream that becomes valuable also competes with waste reduction. Scrap that feeds the recycled-content specification is scrap the process generated, so improvements in production yield reduce the feedstock available, and the two objectives have to be planned together rather than optimised separately.

Mono-material design constrains the technical means available to meet barrier, stiffness and machinability requirements, which means the performance envelope has to be re-established for each new application rather than carried across from the first.

Typical Business Profile

The approach fits flexible packaging manufacturers that both extrude polyethylene film and convert it, and that generate single-polymer production scrap in sufficient volume for it to be worth qualifying as a raw material.

It is most relevant where the company can run or contract a controlled recycling process to a certifiable standard, because the post-industrial route depends on the reprocessing operation being auditable, not only on the material being clean.

Delivery involves product development, production, quality, sustainability, procurement, supply chain and customer management functions, and it presumes a customer prepared to take part in validation and to accept a jointly defined reference comparison.

Approach

1. Map the internal scrap streams: identify which production waste is single-polymer polyethylene of known grade, quantify how much of it arises per production period, and establish whether the volume supports a fixed recycled-content specification.

2. Bring the recycling process to a certifiable standard: segregate polymer streams at source, control the reprocessing route that converts scrap into film-grade material, and obtain certification of that process under the RecyClass Recycling Process Certification scheme.

3. Set the recycled share within a recyclable structure: specify 50 per cent post-industrial recycled polyethylene inside a mono-material polyethylene design, so that recycled content and end-of-life recyclability are delivered by the same article.

4. Define the reference comparison with the customer: agree that performance and material substitution will be assessed against an equivalent structure made entirely from virgin polyethylene, and record the acceptance criteria before trials begin.

5. Validate on production and filling equipment: run trials covering film properties, converting behaviour, process stability and performance on the customer's high-speed bagging lines, and resolve differences on the line rather than by relaxing the recycled-content target.

6. Certify the traceability of the recycled content: obtain independent third-party certification of the origin of the post-industrial feedstock and its share in the finished product under the RecyClass Recycled Plastics Traceability Certification scheme.

7. Release to commercial production and record consumption: move the approved specification into routine manufacturing for the hygiene products customer, and log recycled resin consumed against finished output for each run.

8. Track key indicators: monitor total recycled-content production volume, recycled feedstock consumed, recycled content share and virgin polyethylene displaced; reconcile these figures with production records. Recycled-content and traceability claims are supported by independent third-party certification.

Stakeholders Involved

• Project leads: The initiative is led by the Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer with senior management sponsorship, and is managed as one of the outputs of the company's sustainable product transformation rather than as a standalone customer development. Decisions during development weighed environmental performance, technical suitability, customer expectations and commercial requirements together, and the initiative was run in step with the company's sustainability targets, circular economy approach and regulatory compliance work.

• Company functions: Sustainability, product development, quality, production, procurement, supply chain and customer management teams worked across functional lines. Recycled content share, product performance, quality criteria and process suitability were determined through joint assessment, so that no single function could set a parameter the others could not meet. Production and quality teams established the process settings and control routine for the recycled grade, procurement and supply chain managed feedstock traceability, and customer management routed technical feedback, quality results and customer evaluations back into development. Continuity is supported by investment in sustainable product development, certified recycled feedstock supply, digital data management and corporate sustainability programmes.

• Main providers: Post-industrial polyethylene scrap generated through the company's own production activities is processed through Korozo's recycling operation and returned as recycled polyethylene feedstock. Independent third-party certification covers both recycled-content traceability and the recycling process under the applicable RecyClass certification schemes.

• Other: The customer is an international hygiene products manufacturer whose requirements shaped the final structure. Customer requirements were considered throughout the development process, while validation studies and commercial evaluations supported the final specification used for production.

Key Parameters To Consider

The recycled content is fixed at 50 per cent for this article and verified under traceability certification, but the platform supports other levels according to customer requirements.

Two certificates are involved rather than one: the recycled content and its traceability, and the recycling process that produces the material. Both require periodic audit, and both have to be in place before the recycled-content claim can be made commercially.

The availability of PIR feedstock in this initiative is linked to the quantity of suitable internal production scrap generated and available for recycling. This needs to be considered when planning production volumes and recycled-content levels.

Monitoring is based on production records, while the recycled-content ratio and traceability are supported by independent third-party certification.

Implementation And Operations Tips

Certify the process as well as the recycled-content traceability. For internally generated PIR, certification of the recycling process provides independent evidence that the production scrap is reprocessed through a controlled and auditable recycling route.

Plan the recycled share against the scrap that production actually generates. A specification set above the internal supply forces either external purchasing or a reduced content level once volumes rise, and both are more expensive to resolve after customer approval than before it.

Segregation at source determines everything downstream. Mixed polymer scrap cannot be recovered to film grade, so shop-floor separation discipline is a precondition for the recycled-content specification rather than a housekeeping matter.

Bring the customer into validation early. Performance on the customer's own high-speed equipment, not on the extrusion line, is what decides whether a recycled-content structure is commercially viable.

External Links

• Sustainability reports

• CDP scores