AeroFlexx awarded “Made for Recycling” seal Interseroh

AeroFlexx, a company that provides flexible packaging based in West Chester, Ohio, has been awarded the “Made for Recycling” seal from sustainability service provider Interseroh of Cologne, Germany. The award is for the AeroFlexx liquid package, a flexible construct which contains an air frame that provides rigid qualities throughout the entire package lifecycle.

According to a news release from the company, AeroFlexx is one of the first packages to receive the “Made for Recycling” designation for the multiple countries across Europe that offer recycling for rigid polyethylene (PE) packaging, meaning consumers are able to recycle AeroFlexx packages just like other widely recycled PE bottles.

“AeroFlexx is honored to be recognized as ‘Made for Recycling,’” AeroFlexx CEO Andrew Meyer says. “Our commitment to a circular economy is to proactively engage the industry to create an ecosystem whereby no AeroFlexx package ends up in the environment. This designation recognizes the collective commitment and effort across the entire AeroFlexx team as we believe we have an unwavering obligation to our customers, society and future generations to do our part to reduce environmental impacts without compromise on performance or the consumer experience.”

AeroFlexx is taking steps to ensure its packages are compatible with the recycling systems in both Europe and the Americas, and achieving recyclability recognition through Interseroh is one of the first steps, the company says.

The Interseroh “Made for Recycling” assessment procedure celebrated its three-year anniversary earlier this year, when it announced it had completed 1,600 analyses. It was awarded international accreditation—ISO/IEC 17025:2017—in March 2020, making it the only research facility in the European Union to specialize on the development and analysis of recycled plastics.

Interseroh notes the term “recyclability” is understood to mean the extent to which materials used to manufacture the product can be returned to the material loop at the end of the product’s useful life, therefore closing the material loop. It uses a three-stage points system which involves:

• determining whether the consumer can assign the packaging to the right collection system without any problems;
• assessing how the packaging performs during the sorting process; and
• evaluating how suitable the packaging is for recycling and determining if design features such as labels, colors or barriers make the recycling process more difficult.

Packaging that passes Interseroh’s assessment is able to carry the “Made for Recycling” seal if it scores at least 18 out of 20 points. The certificate is valid for two years, subsequent to which recertification is required.