8th May, 2025Mitsubishi Chemical Group’s (MCG) SoarnoL™ EVOH Resins Recognized by APR and Pre-qualified as Store Drop-off Recyclable from How2Recycle®
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) has recognized that Mitsubishi Chemical Group’s (MCG), SoarnoL™ ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH) resins, with an ethylene content of ≥ 29 mol%, are recyclable in multi-layer PE films containing ≤15 weight percent (wt%) SoarnoL™, based on our successful test results demonstrating its technical recyclability, meeting The APR's Critical Guidance Protocol for PE Film and Flexible Packaging (FPE-CG-01).
Additionally, MCG’s received pre-qualification letter from How2Recycle for SoarnoL™ EVOH Resins. This pre-qualification covers PE based multilayer film with 15 or less wt% of SoarnoL™. This pre-qualification letter supports brand owners to obtain their on-pack How2Recycle labels for new products and also helps to inform consumers to handle used packages appropriately. The recyclability of the final structures can change due to product application, attachments, and other factors by the brand or customer utilizing the pre-qualified material and applicants must be members of How2Recycle to receive a label for on-pack use.
SoarnoL™ EVOH is an environmentally friendly high-performance resin that combines high gas barrier performance with recyclability. SoarnoL™ is used in multilayer structures in a variety of applications for the packaging and automotive industries. In food packaging, SoarnoL™’s high gas barrier allows packaging suppliers and brand owners to minimize package weight while extending the shelf-life of packaged goods. Soaresin™ is a recycling agent that can be used to further enhance EVOH compatibility in the polyethylene recycle stream.
“We are proud to receive this recognition from APR and pre-qualification from How2Recycle,” said Brian McCaghy, President of Soarus, LLC (MCG’s sales, marketing, and R&D company for acetyl products in the Americas). “It’s an important development for our customers and brand owners trying to create recyclable film structures, as the industry furthers it’s efforts towards plastic circularity.”
About the Association of Plastic Recyclers
The Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR) is a US-based international non-profit and the only North American organization focused exclusively on improving recycling for plastics. APR’s tools & resources help companies design packaging that can be recycled, support innovations that overcome existing recycling challenges, and encourage stable and reliable markets for post-consumer recycled content. The APR’s Design® for Recyclability Recognition provides third party validation that a package or packaging components design is compatible with the North American recycling system.
About How2Recycle
How2Recycle is the leading labeling program for packaging disposal instructions with the most recognizable on-pack label across the United States and Canada. Launched in 2012, How2Recycle started as a Sustainable Packaging Coalition working group aimed at providing consumers with clear, standard, and accessible on-pack disposal instructions. Today, with its more than 800 participating organizations, How2Recycle and its members are on a mission to make sure that consumers have the information they need to get waste into the right streams. Learn more at https://greenblue.org/projects/how2recycle/
About the Mitsubishi Chemical Group
The Mitsubishi Chemical Group is a specialty materials company that operates in four business fields: Performance Products, Chemicals, Industrial Gases, and Health Care. Around 70,000 employees around the world support people's daily lives and global businesses by providing advanced chemistry-based solutions in the electronics, healthcare & life science, as well as other selected markets. Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corporation is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market, with consolidated sales revenue of 3,976.9 billion yen in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.
For further information, please visit our website: https://www.mitsubishichem-hd.co.jp/english/
For further information on SoarnoL™, please visit: https://www.soarnol.com
