News | March 30, 2012

UPM To Commence In-House Recycling For Paper Based Release Liners

UPM has developed a new in-house solution for recycling paper based release liner back into pulp and paper. Release liner is the siliconised backing material that is an essential part of self-adhesive labelstock until the printed labels have been taken into use.

Packers and brand owners can now have their used release paper recycled at UPM's paper mill's de-inking plant in Plattling, Germany, instead of sending it to incineration. At the UPM facility, the liner is de-siliconised and processed into pulp to be used as raw material for UPM's paper products.

"This innovative solution serves the entire industry. We are very happy that our constant aims to minimise solid waste and maximise the reuse of raw materials are coming true also in the label value chain. With four million tonnes of recovered paper per year, UPM is the world's largest user of recycled fibre in graphic papers and therefore we have access to various types of recovered papers – now also including release papers. This is truly one part of our Biofore thinking coming alive," says Marko Haveri, Portfolio Manager, Fine and Speciality Papers.

UPM Plattling mill has a strong focus on sustainability. "We have invested in sophisticated processes for extracting fibres from demanding recovered paper fractions," explains Operations Director Mika Kämpe. "Siliconised release paper is a natural expansion to our raw material base, and we are therefore able to offer a sustainable recycling solution to the self-adhesive label industry."

This concept is open to all companies in the labelling value chain. In line with its Biofore Vision, UPM is committed to developing sustainable recycling solutions for the industry. For example, this release paper recycling concept complements UPM Raflatac's existing RafCycle self-adhesive labelstock waste management concept.

UPM Plattling in Southern Germany is a mill site with three paper machines producing SC and LWC papers for magazine printing from mechanical groundwood and recycled fibres. The combined capacity of the Plattling mill is 800 000 tonnes/a. The mill site includes a de-inking plant, which is used to extract fibres from recovered paper.

RafCycle waste management concept
UPM Raflatac, part of UPM's Engineered Materials Business Group, is one of the world's leading suppliers of self-adhesive label materials. UPM Raflatac's waste management concept RafCycle offers sustainable recycling solutions for the by-products and waste generated throughout the lifecycle of self-adhesive labelstock. This includes process waste from UPM Raflatac's laminating and slitting operations, matrix and start-up waste from label printing and converting, and liner waste from label dispensing.

Through RafCycle, recycled waste is given a new life as UPM ProFi wood-plastic composite products, energy or paper. www.rafcycle.com

SOURCE: UPM