Pilot 3 / Value Chain 2: Reusable Plastic Packaging
Reusable packaging systems can increase sustainability through recycled materials and closed-loop reuse, but the sector faces barriers such as inconsistent material quality, dependency on suppliers, limited data, logistical inefficiencies and the need to optimise packaging design for reuse, repair, cleaning and transport.
The North Black Forest packaging pathway combines reusable polypropylene twin-wall products with the development of a thermoplastic compound containing wood-derived biocarbon. It brings together biomass conversion, polymer compounding and product manufacturing, with Carbonauten and Infinex contributing to the material and processing chain.
The proposed material route begins with the thermochemical conversion of woody biomass, followed by preparation and grinding of the biocarbon. The resulting material is combined with virgin or recycled polymer during compounding. Twin-wall sheet manufacture and product conversion can then involve extrusion, cutting, welding, forming, printing and punching, depending on the packaging design.
The wider circular system includes the return of used packaging, inspection and sorting, cleaning of suitable products and further processing of material that cannot remain in reuse. Shredding and recycling provide a route for appropriate polymer fractions, while rejects require separate handling. This connects the design of the packaging with both repeated use and eventual material recovery.
Development is addressing processing compatibility and the adaptation of polymer extrusion to the compound. Prototype and process validation remain part of the work. The presence of wood-derived carbon is a material characteristic under investigation; the environmental performance of the finished packaging depends on the complete production and use cycle.
The assessment connects compound development with extrusion and conversion into packaging. Material-processing compatibility and prototype validation are central technical questions. The circular-system perspective also considers returned packaging, inspection, cleaning, reuse and recovery of fractions that cannot remain in service. These stages determine whether the proposed combination of reusable packaging and a wood-derived biocarbon compound can operate as a coherent value chain.
The Infinex reference process produces reusable polypropylene twin-wall sheets using extrusion and subsequent cutting, welding, printing, punching or milling according to customer requirements. Feedstock can include both virgin and recycled polypropylene. Some customers operate deposit-based return arrangements, while only part of the used sheet material returns directly to Infinex; other material enters local recycling channels. Customers generally carry out inspection and minor repair of the packaging they assemble, with severely damaged components recycled or disposed of through the applicable routes. This existing sheet-production and reuse system is the baseline for the pilot's development of biocarbon-containing formulations and related processing adaptations.
INFINEX and CARBONAUTEN are working on a reusable-sheet application incorporating a wood-derived biocarbon compound. Current development focuses on test-material availability and adapting the compound from injection-moulding conditions to the intended extrusion process.
The new compound-sheet configuration remains under development. Industrial prototype validation, biobased content and lifecycle performance are part of the next assessment stages.