The Barrier That Could Not Be Recycled
High-barrier food packaging plays a critical role in protecting products, extending shelf life, and reducing food waste. Many of these solutions rely on PVDC resins marketed under the Ixan® brand to deliver exceptional oxygen and moisture barrier performance.
The challenge has always been end of life. Multilayer structures that combine PVDC with polyethylene and other materials have been considered extremely difficult to recycle mechanically. As a result, most of this packaging has historically been sent to incineration or landfill.
For brand owners and converters under pressure to meet EU packaging waste targets, this represented a significant gap between performance and circularity.
Rethinking Mechanical Recycling
Syensqo set out to close that gap.
The company developed and validated a proprietary mechanical recycling process that enables PVDC multilayer packaging to be processed within polyethylene recycling streams. Instead of being treated as contamination, the material can now be integrated into open-loop recycling applications such as rigid-use items.
This approach preserves the value of the material while avoiding complex chemical recycling routes. It also aligns with existing collection and sorting infrastructures, which is essential for scalability.
From Laboratory Proof to Industrial Relevance
A key milestone was demonstrating that the process works beyond controlled laboratory conditions.
Syensqo successfully scaled trials from lab development to pilot operations at an industrially relevant level. The March 2025 announcement marked the first time PVDC-based multilayer packaging had been mechanically recycled at this scale.
This validation provides packaging producers and brand owners with practical evidence that circular solutions are achievable without compromising barrier performance.
Enabling Circular Food Packaging
The innovation extends the recyclability of high-barrier food packaging while maintaining food safety and product quality. It creates new design possibilities for manufacturers seeking to balance performance, compliance, and sustainability.
Key features of the project include:
- Expanded recyclability for PVDC-containing multilayer packaging
- Compatibility with polyethylene recycling streams
- Demonstrated scalability from laboratory to pilot level
- Open-loop recycling into durable rigid applications
Measurable Impact
The breakthrough reduces plastic waste and decreases reliance on virgin feedstock. By enabling mechanical recycling, the solution supports circular economy objectives and strengthens compliance with European packaging waste directives.
Equally important, it contributes to more sustainable food supply chains by preserving the barrier properties that prevent spoilage and reduce food waste.
As the Syensqo Packaging Solutions Team stated:
“By making PVDC-based packaging recyclable, we are helping our customers achieve their circularity targets while maintaining food safety and product quality.”
A Sectoral Step Forward
Mechanical recycling of PVDC multilayer packaging has long been viewed as a technical barrier. This project demonstrates that innovation within existing recycling systems can unlock circular pathways once thought impractical.
For the packaging sector, it signals a shift from managing waste to designing it out of the system.