Impact of Plastic Labelling, Coloring and Printing on Material Value Conservation in the Products of Secondary Recycling

Abstract

Flexible plastic packaging which rejected or with low acceptance as raw materials for secondary recycling need relevant evidence and explanation of its cause, and then, need a systemic solution on how to increase the acceptance level. Coloring and printing on flexible plastic packaging were predicted as the significant source of impurity that reduces the value of plastic material at the end of packaging life cycle. Otherwise, optimum use of label or sticker as printing media for informational and promotional purpose on the packaging proposed as a key solution in material value conservation. The existing practices which focused on how to manage abundant plastic waste generation, replaced by a new paradigm which focused on how avoid waste generation by conserving the material value systematically. This research revealed that flexible plastic packaging materials with no color pigment and no printing ink were suitable for secondary recycling to produce high quality of recycled plastic pellets and leverage the selling price. Therefore, labelling on the surface of packaging that protect purity of the material can be considered as one of methods in the implementation of material value conservation on flexible plastic packaging. Another benefits of the implementation of material value conservation are to improve the utilization of virgin plastic and its recycled plastic pellets as raw materials with better quality.