Perpetua Alta is recycle-ready laminate with improved chemical resistance

The world’s third-largest flexible packaging manufacturer, Constantia Flexibles, has launched the first ready-to-be-recycled mono-material based on polypropylene (PP) with high chemical resistance for pharmaceutical products.

“We highlight the need for more sustainable packaging in the pharmaceutical packaging business with our innovation Perpetua Alta,” states Joerg Adrian, vice-president of Technical Organization & Innovation Pharma of Constantia Flexibles. The newest addition to its product portfolio combines ‘Design for Recycling’ guidelines with high chemical resistance against aggressive liquid or gel formulations. The mono-polymer solution replaces the multi-material packaging for chemically aggressive products such as pharmaceutical liquid and gel compositions. 

“It was our goal to achieve a high-performance ready-to-be-recycled solution. Although designed for highly aggressive pharma products, Perpetua Alta may also find applications in other market segments requiring high chemical resistance, like in food applications,” added Joerg Adrian. On top, third-party certification from the German Institute cyclos-HTP confirms the material recovery of up to 96%, depending on the final material configuration.

Traditional multilayer packaging for pharmaceutical products is not recyclable due to the combination of different materials. Alternatives, such as recyclable mono-polyethylene or mono-polypropylene laminates, fulfil the recyclability factor but do not provide the required performance with respect to chemical resistance. “It was a challenge. Our R&D and product management team worked hard to get where we are today – a full polypropylene recyclable solution with high chemical resistance (HCR) towards aggressive filling goods,” explained Roberto Martin, head of innovation laminates at Constantia Flexibles’ plant in Logroño, Spain. 

Perpetua Alta can withstand, for example, hydro-alcoholic gel under accelerated aging conditions, similar to aluminum-containing multi-material laminates compliant with HCR requirements. Compared to a conventional laminate solution, this innovative laminate offers optimal product protection from oxygen, water vapor, and light at a reduced weight and increased yield. Perpetua Alta is a drop-in solution for existing packaging formats based on laminates like stick packs, sachets, and strip packs. Important for the production – The packaging machines do not have to be replaced, the existing equipment can be used.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to the country-wide lockdown on 25 March 2020. It will be two years tomorrow as I write this. What have we learned in this time? Maybe the meaning of resilience since small companies like us have had to rely on our resources and the forbearance of our employees as we have struggled to produce our trade platforms.

The print and packaging industries have been fortunate, although the commercial printing industry is still to recover. We have learned more about the digital transformation that affects commercial printing and packaging. Ultimately digital will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future.

Web analytics show that we now have readership in North America and Europe amongst the 90 countries where our five platforms reach. Our traffic which more than doubled in 2020, has at times gone up by another 50% in 2021. And advertising which had fallen to pieces in 2020 and 2021, has started its return since January 2022.

As the economy approaches real growth with unevenness and shortages a given, we are looking forward to the PrintPack India exhibition in Greater Noida. We are again appointed to produce the Show Daily on all five days of the show from 26 to 30 May 2022.

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