Ultrapolymers

Thank you to everyone who joined Ultrapolymers at Equiplast, FIP - France Innovation Plasturgie and Interplas UK last week. We had some truly valuable conversations across the shows, from sustainability and supply chain challenges to new material options, design-to-production support, the realities of manufacturing in Europe and much more.

A big thank you as well to all of the Ultrapolymers team members who were involved at the events, those working behind the scenes to make them happen, and everyone continuing to support our customers while the team is out meeting the market.

If you were not able to make it to one of the shows, we would still love to hear from you. The Ultrapolymers team will be at PLAST 2026 in Italy soon, or you can explore our plastics portfolio and get in touch via our website 👉 https://bit.ly/ContactUltrapolymers

On World Food Safety Day, it’s worth recognising that circularity in food packaging must go hand in hand with safety, approvals and performance.

For packaging stakeholders, the challenge is clear:
How do you integrate recycled content while maintaining full confidence in food contact compliance?

Encouragingly, innovation is advancing rapidly. One strong example is the development of mechanically recycled polystyrene for dairy applications by INEOS Styrolution.

Through a multi-step recycling process, including deep NIR sorting, hot washing, melt filtration and pelletising, post-consumer polystyrene can be transformed into high-quality recyclate.

At the heart of this is INEOS Styrolution’s “super clean” process, registered under EU Regulation 2022/1616, enabling recycled polystyrene to achieve food contact quality, something historically associated mainly with PET.
Importantly, this is no longer just a concept. Adoption is already scaling, with commercial implementation demonstrating real market demand.
- Yoghurt cups were the first to hit the market using this material
- This was followed by sour cream cups with 30% recycled polystyrene now available in select ALDI SÜD regions
- The solution has been recognised with the German Packaging Award (Sustainability: recycled content)

Maintaining the performance of conventional polystyrene, robust quality controls and a significantly lower environmental footprint, these developments show how circular solutions are becoming a practical reality in food packaging.

At Ultrapolymers, we see this as a key step forward, helping customers navigate the balance between regulatory compliance, product performance and circularity goals.

Because with the right expertise and materials, it is possible for food safety and circularity to co-exist.

Recycled content targets are rising across Europe, and the question has changed.

It’s no longer if recycled content should be used… it’s how to introduce it quickly and reliably without risking performance or aesthetics.

Here’s a practical, industrial case study supported by SK Functional Polymer showing exactly that:
✅ 30% recycled content incorporated into PE/EVOH multilayer barrier blown film
✅ Designed to protect film quality and brand appearance
✅ Enabled through compatibilisation — bridging the polarity gap between PE and EVOH using LOTADER® 4210

Key takeaway: when compatibility is engineered correctly, recycled content can be introduced into demanding barrier structures without compromise.

🔎 Want to explore LOTADER® 4210 for recycled-content barrier and multilayer films? Read the article here -> https://bit.ly/recycled-barrier-films

Message us or contact the Ultrapolymers team, and we’ll help you assess the feasibility for your structure and process.