Indian laminate tubes manufacturer Essel Propack (Mumbai, Maharashtra; www.esselpropack.com) has launched two recyclable HDPE tubes for products such as oral care, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The US Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR, Washington, D.C.; www.plasticsrecycling.org) has certified the “Platina” and “Green Maple Leaf” tubes, which will be offered in an HDPE base, enabling the retention of all necessary barrier properties and definitive bounce back until the end of use. Essel Propack said this “first-of-a-kind breakthrough” in the tube packaging market will “open the doors for many such innovations in the near future.”

The Indian company, regarded as the world leader in laminate tubes, has established various initiatives to improve sustainable packaging. One of these is “Project Liberty”, where Essel Propack uses its proprietary technology to separate the aluminium and polymers in multilayer laminates into two distinct reusable streams for recycling. Essel Propack has also developed its “Etain” tubes that contain up to 25% post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin.

In April 2019, US investment group Blackstone (New York, New York; www.blackstone.com) agreed to take a majority stake in Essel Propack. Ashok Goel, founder and managing director of the Indian company, will retain a minority stake – see Plasteurope.com of 29.04.2019.