RafCycle by UPM Raflatac
Country: Australia and New Zealand
Category: Packaging Materials and Components
The glassine paper liner on label stock is an essential component acting as a protective layer for the adhesive plus, a continuous roll to enable high speed self-adhesive label application. In Australia this glassine liner predominantly ends up in landfill. The RafCycle scheme has been designed by UPM Raflatac to ensure this high-quality glassine paper is recovered giving the pulp many new lives, recycled into new glassine liner, and a variety of other high-quality papers. Globally 400 brand owners are engaged with this scheme, recycling the weight of over 3 Eiffel Towers, leaving 463,000 trees in the forest for other uses.
There are no paper mills in Australia that are equipped to recycle glassine, as the silicone layer, plus the paper strength demands significant energy to recover. RafCycle by UPM Raflatac is the only scheme globally that can ensure these long-fibre, high-quality paper fibres are recycled multiple times.
A range of new RafCycle boxes were trialed during 2023, with the goal of double stacking them inside shipping containers, to ensure maximum space utilisation, whilst ensuring the load remained stable during sea freight and hence can be safely unpacked in Europe. UPM Raflatac have now successfully selected a new box that enables brand owners to collect approximately ¾ tonne in each box and allows the double stacked shipping format.