Colors & Effects supports sustainable packaging with pigments for compostable plastics and printing inks
31 August 2020
– As consumers show increasing awareness for the goods they buy and for related packaging materials, brand owners take responsibility for the complete life cycle of all their product’s components. As a sustainable solution preventing waste from being incinerated or land filled, industrial composting is one part of a complex waste discussion.
In order to support the creation of colored compostable products the Colors & Effects brand promotes a special pigment portfolio for compostable plastics and printing inks. The selection is based on the evaluation of the pigment composition according to the requirements of EN 13432, the European standard for industrial composting. “The regulation EN 13432 treats pigments as additives and as such they are obliged not to hinder the industrial composting process”, says Lindy Lin, Senior Commercial Industry Manager for Plastics at Colors & Effects and explains: “Thanks to our long term experience with purity limits for sensitive applications like food contact materials or toys, we have built up a comprehensive pigment portfolio with especially high purity standards.”
Andreas Kleinhenz, Senior Technical Marketing and Development Manager for Printing and Specialties at Colors & Effects, adds: “The right pigment chemistry supports a product’s overall compliance with compost purity limits. It is a relevant factor enabling that the remains of compostable packaging stay within the EN 13432 regulation limits, including the printing ink on its surface. Relevant components include for example volatile matter, heavy metal and fluorine.” The pigment selection for compostable packaging can be found on the Colors & Effects website.
