The Plastik Group, a major international manufacturer of films and bags for the hygiene market based in Bergamo, Italy, is using certified circular polymers from SABIC’s Trucircle portfolio in the production of speciality films designed for the absorbent disposables of Drylock Technologies.

Drylock, headquartered in Zele, Belgium, has approved the use of these films for various absorbent hygiene applications, such as sanitary pads, panty liners, towels and diapers in feminine, baby and incontinence care. These products  meet increased regulatory, brand owner and consumer demands for more responsible, lower-carbon and waste reducing solutions without compromising safety, purity and convenience. At the end of their service life, they can be returned into the raw materials cycle for separation of components, cleaning and re-conversion to circular feedstock.

“There is a global trend towards identifying solutions for single-use disposable absorbent hygiene products,” says Abdullah Al-Otaibi, general manager of engineering thermoplastic and market solutions at SABIC. “With our Trucircle initiative, we identified sustainable solutions for such challenges. Our value chain partnership with Plastik Group and Drylock can serve as a role model for making a difference. While it demonstrates a feasible route to more responsible, circular product solutions, it also meets with our aims to increase efficiency and create value for used materials that would otherwise end up as waste in landfill sites or incineration plants.”

SABIC produces Trucircle certified circular polymers for its Purecares polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE) polymers portfolio with feedstocks from advanced recycling of mixed and used plastic.

“We operate two manufacturing sites for hygiene films and bags accredited to mass balance accounting according to the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification (ISCC) PLUS regime for tracing the circular or bio-based material content throughout the entire production chain,” said Cattaneo Gianangelo, president at Plastik Group. “Depending on customer specifications and technical requirements, the content of circular certified polymers from SABIC in our films can be raised all the way up to 100%, resulting in a significantly lower carbon footprint compared to conventional hygiene films.”

“Being a global leader in sustainable hygiene products means taking care of a lot of things – from vegan and cruelty-free solutions to maintaining our carbon neutral status,” added Jules Van Malderen, business development director at Drylock Technologies. “The substitution of standard virgin PE film by paper and film based on recycled PE is just one example. We will continue to move further in this direction.”

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