FAQ: can release liner carrier substrates be recycled?
Posted on Tue, Aug 28, 2018
Once a label or fastener is applied, the liner becomes useless and often ends up incinerated or buried with common garbage. A very large amount of paper is wasted. Release liner waste material is found in post-consumer waste streams and is also a significant component of the pre-consumer waste stream generated in the manufacturing of adhesive products. Much of the waste is "siliconized" Release Liner.
“Paper and film release liners can be recycled and taken back to its original form, which is fiber or resin,” says Calvin Frost, chairman of Chicago based Channeled Resources Group. “The silicone can be mechanically skimmed off from paper or re-melted from film quite easily. That process doesn’t use chemicals. What you have left is raw material for reuse. It has good physical and mechanical properties."Paper is a very recyclable, reusable commodity. 3M Resource Recovery sells paper and paper based materials to paper mills, paper brokers and converters. 3M is able to reuse some of the silicone coated liner papers within the company.
Did you know? EcoVadis awarded 3M a Gold Recognition Level for achievements in the top 1 percent of suppliers assessed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) in global Supply Chains.
Contact 3M Resource Recovery for additional information on paper recycling and reuse.
