SABIC, a global leader in the chemicals industry, reports that B!POD, a business unit of SAES Getters, has selected SABIC’s OBP-based polypropylene resin as the material for their containers. In close collaboration, the partners selected SABIC PP 576P, a high-gloss grade from the company’s Trucircle portfolio of circular resins. The container material has an OBP feedstock content in the range of 50%.
"We are very pleased about working with SAES Getters to help consumers meet the challenge of improving food preservation with a powerful vacuum system that uses containers molded in OBP-based SABIC PP. The decision to replace standard virgin PP by our OBP material in the containers also marks a significant step towards greater sustainability, as it supports the transformation of the plastics economy towards circularity", states Khaled Al-Jalawi, Global Director of Circular Economy Business at SABIC.
The source of the OBP in SABIC’s material is abandoned used plastic collected in regions within 50 km of shorelines and then converted to plastic feedstock by means of advanced recycling. The PP resin produced with this recycle is supplied in natural color to C.E.L. (Costruzioni Elettromeccaniche Legnaghesi), a leading Italian player specializing in the processing of thermoplastic resins. C.E.L. adds special masterbatches to mold the B!POD containers in different s and several distinct custom colors. At the end of their service life, the reusable containers are fully recyclable in existing PP material streams.
"This innovation embraces sustainability from the very concept to end use - with an advanced vacuum technology to minimize food waste, with SABIC’s OBP-based material that prevents used plastic from polluting our oceans, and with containers in a range of colors each dedicated to an endangered species, such as orangutan orange or whale grey, it is designed to raise the awareness of consumers. Moreover, our market research has indicated that reusable rigid containers for food preservation can potentially eliminate the consumption of more than 300 non-recyclable plastic bags per person and year, which corresponds to a per capita release of 30 kg of CO2 to the atmosphere", comments Ginevra della Porta, Chief Innovation Officer at SAES Getters&co-founder of B!POD.
The selected OPB-based SABIC PP 576P resin is a food contact approved grade, free of PFAS and BPA. It offers ease of processing and delivers dimensionally stable parts with low warpage, good impact strength and high gloss as molded. The ocean-bound plastic based solution is fully certified under the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) Plus chain of custody.
The sustainable B!POD containers molded in OBP based SABIC PP has been fully rolled out across the European Union, in Switzerland and the United Kingdom by mid-2024, with Asian countries to follow in 2025.
