New adhesives aim to make paper labels recycling-friendly

BASF said in February 2022 that it had developed Acronal RCF 3705 and Acronal RCF 3706, paper-label adhesives that do not interfere with paper and paperboard recycling, including transport boxes such as cardboard and paperboard boxes with paper labels. The announcement went straight at a quiet weak point in the recovery system: a label or adhesive layer small enough to go unnoticed can still determine whether a sheet of paper returns to circulation or gets downgraded into waste.

BASF said both adhesives were certified by Papiertechnische Stiftung, or PTS, the German research and service institute it described as supporting companies in fiber-based solutions. The company also said the Acronal RCF products were designed to integrate into existing recycling processes, rather than requiring mills or sorters to rebuild their systems around them. BASF added that the adhesives carry approval for direct food contact certified by ISEGA, a detail that matters for paper packaging used across food and consumer goods.

UPM Raflatac widened the picture in 2023. In October, the company said ten adhesives for logistics and e-commerce paper labels had been certified by PTS as recyclable in the paper and board-based packaging stream. In December, UPM said two adhesives for office paper labels had also been verified by PTS as recycling compatible. Together, the BASF and UPM announcements show that the problem is not limited to one label category or one type of paper package.

UPM’s packaging recyclability guide says the industry is facing growing pressure from consumers and other stakeholders to operate more sustainably, and that European markets will face legislative requirements for both recyclability and recycled content. The guide also says many companies have already made voluntary commitments to use 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging. That leaves the adhesive spec as a procurement decision, not a finishing detail, and it pushes responsibility onto label makers, packaging converters, brand owners and paper recyclers to align on the same standard.

For the national recycling system, the test is scale. If adhesives like Acronal RCF 3705 and 3706, and UPM’s certified label adhesives, stay confined to a handful of premium packages, the impact on paper recovery will be limited. If they become standard across transport boxes, logistics labels and office paper labels, more paper and paperboard can stay in the recycling stream instead of slipping into the waste bin because of glue.