Plastic maker Trinseo and packaging manufacturer Fernholz have developed the Form Fill Seal (FFS) formulations, a new grade of post-consumer recycled polystyrene (PS) which incorporates up to 40% recycled PS (r-PS). The new product is made by using Trinseo’s in-house technology which utilizes solvent processes to embed the material into the polymerization process.
Nicolas Joly, Trinseo’s Plastics & Feedstocks VP, said that the r-PS technology would help the plastics industry to conserve resources and reduce fossil-based feedstock intake. He claims that the new technology had met with consumer and market expectations. Uwe Fernholz, the Managing Director at Fernholz, said the newly-developed r-Ps had received “overwhelmingly” positive feedback from customers.
Fernholz uses the r-PS to produce sheets which meet food safety requirements and can be used for food packaging applications. Several European dairy companies have tested the new material grade, with some of them already launching new products using packaging incorporating the r-PS. Trinseo said that it has the ability to meet demand from the dairy industry for several thousand tons of materials with PCR content.
