HOUSTON, Feb. 1, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Kraton Corporation (NYSE: KRA), a leading global Sustainable producer of specialty polymers and high-value biobased products derived from pine wood pulping co-products, is pleased to announce its CirKular+ Performance Enhancement Series C2000 and C3000 have been approved as fully compatible with recycling of polypropylene (PP) containers in Europe according to RecyClass. Pellets containing 5 wt.% of either CirKular+ C2000 or C3000 resin blended in an injection molding PP grade matrix were tested according to the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) Critical Guidance for PP Rigid Containers.

RecyClass is a comprehensive cross-industry initiative that works to advance plastic packaging recyclability and to estABLish a harmonized approach towards recycled content calculation and traceability in Europe. Activities within RecyClass include the development of Recyclability Evaluation Protocols and the scientific testing of innovative materials. RecyClass supports the industry in redesigning plastic packaging to improve recycled plastic quality, aiming to harmonize the existing approaches.

“We are honored to achieve RecyClass certification for our CirKular+ Performance Enhancement Series,” said Holger Jung, SVP & Polymer Segment President, Kraton. “This recognition reinforces our commitment to enable Sustainable high-performance solutions to address the plastics industry needs for design recyclability and the advancement of the circular economy.”

“We’re pleased to support Kraton in verifying its impact on the quality of recycled PP containers through the testing they previously performed according to APR Critical Guidance for PP Rigid Containers,” said Fabrizio di Gregorio, Technical Director of Plastics Recyclers Europe, RecyClass. “Based on our assessment, RecyClass concludes when used at up to 5% of total packaging weight along with other met conditions, the CirKular+ C2000 and C3000 resins are fully compatible with the existing European industrial recycling processes for PP containers.”

The CirKular+ Performance Enhancement Series allows recyclers, processors and brand owners to maximize post-consumer recycled content and improve the recyclate impact strength by up to 500%. By enabling a holistic approach to the plastic product life cycle, CirKular+ solutions can enhance plastics upcycling and circularity across the entire plastics value chain. Additionally, CirKular+ can offer improved plastic packaging recyclability and durability suitable for a wide range of end-use applications.