WEST YORKSHIRE, England—ImerPlast U.K. Ltd.'s IM30 compound was chosen for a 100 percent post-consumer recycled resin paint pot.
The pot, molded by Emballator in Bradford, U.K., and used by Crown for its retail 2.5-liter and 5-liter plastic packs and all 10-liter packs, would be the first of its kind, according to an ImerPlast release. Trade plastic packs will follow in 2019.
The polymer alloy consists of polypropylene and high-density polyethylene, combined using a patented mineral-based compatibilizer, said ImerPlast. The formula is designed to reach an optimum stiffness and toughness balance suited to applications such as paint pots, as well as control of shrinkage and resin color. IM30 required no significant changes for processing, and was fully miscible with both PP and PE when further recycled.
When recycled resin is used for paint pots, typically only about 25 percent recycled resin has been added to virgin, ImerPlast said. Often, that amount has contained significant post-industrial rather than post-consumer content, because the impact properties are not good enough when higher levels are used.
