Hoffmann Neopac, a global provider of packaging for pharma, beauty and oral care, has been granted approval for its Polyfoil MMB mono-material barrier tube by the U.S.-based Association of Plastic Recyclers. Offering a combination of product protection, user friendliness and appealing aesthetics, the tubes passed muster both with and without their thin film metallization option.
 
Neopac’s Polyfoil MMB tubes can reduce packaging carbon footprints by up to 38% compared with traditional laminated tubes. The tube body is made possible through an adhesive laminated process – a contrast to the existing blown film and extruded film solutions recently adopted by big oral care brands. Key advantages include advanced barrier and aesthetic options in the tube body. The tube’s shoulder and cap are made with low MFI HDPE and just 2% of foreign material. End of 2020, Polyfoil MMB tubes became the first such tube/cap combination successfully tested by RecyClass, an initiative by Plastics Recyclers Europe.
 
To gain approval from the U.S. Association of Plastic Recyclers, a review committee appointed per the APR Recognition Operating Procedures reviewed Neopac’s data submission. The group concluded that this research was correctly developed by a qualified laboratory, and certified that the Polyfoil MMB tubes meet or exceed both challenging test conditions and the organization’s uncompromising criteria for packages recycled in the HDPE bottle stream, of which tubes are a subset. 
 
Due to Neopac’s advancements in materials science, Polyfoil MMB accomplishes recyclability goals while maintaining the attractive printing and decorative options for which Neopac’s conventional Polyfoil tubes are known. The solution is available with a non-compromising metallized look and, when combined with Neopac’s HDPE screw and hinge closures, comes fully ready for recycling in PE rigid streams.
 
The first series of Polyfoil MMB tubes is now available, with oral care brands committed to shift this year and both, pharmaceutical and cosmetic customers already performing stability or compatibility tests.