Element Packaging is giving plastic a new beginning and a better end, using carbon-capture technology.
Element Packaging is partnering with Oco to develop the next generation of sustainable packaging. They are using plastic waste and incorporating a patented additive that has permanently captured greenhouse gas emissions.
How does it work?
Element has partnered with carbon capture and utilization technology company, Oco, to apply their material into plastic packaging for beauty. It’s the first and exclusive application in the market for the cosmetics industry. It's a powder additive made from sequestrated CO2 and inorganic powder feedstock which gives more strength to the plastic materials; it increases tensile strength, longevity and durability. It is extending the lifespan of recycled plastics by at least 4 times when mechanically recycled. “We're upcycling waste instead of introducing new virgin materials to the world.” states Madison Savilow, co-founder of Oco.
What problem does it solve?
Waste. Waste. Waste.
The figures talk for themselves. Only 10% of packaging is actually recycled globally (source: Ellen MacArthur foundation), and most of it ends up in landfill. Recycling is far from the most effective way to tackle plastic waste. With our partnership with Oco, it allows us to use a high level of post-consumer waste (PCR), ocean-bound plastic, and PIR (post-industrial recycled) - plastics that are already in circulation.
PCR. PCR. PCR.
Every business is now requesting PCR plastics in the market in order to follow pending global regulations, consumer expectations, and to reach carbon neutrality. The demand being higher than the supply, the quality is very variable depending on the market and the application. In other words, the PCR supply chain is not great. Therefore enhancing these materials to perform better and be more reusable may actually be more sustainable. Thanks to the Oco additives we are able to increase the quality of the finished product.
Which application will it work with?
“We are primarily integrating it into packaging that will most probably - if not certainly - end-up in landfill. We are currently using it with LDPE and HDPE (Low Density & High Density Polyethylene), and PP (Polypropylene), but the possibilities are infinite. We focus on applications with tubes, deodorant sticks, tottles, PP mascaras components, which are less likely to be recycled because of the sheer physical size.” explains Nick Gardner, co-founder of Element Packaging. “Our partnership allows us to make packaging with fully sequestered carbon which also increases durability, recyclability, and material performance,” adds Gardner.
The additive actually improves the molecular structure of plastics, allowing for recyclability and integration into current recycling streams. It also allows materials to keep the Food Grade designation for added safety (FDA approved).
Main benefits:
Removal of CO2
Reduction of Greenhouse Gases
Reduces the Carbon Footprint
Improves the durability and strength of the PCR.
Increases the multiple for recycling potential
At the end of Life - becomes a carbon sink.Trapping the CO2 permanently
End of life
“We're working on the assumption that most beauty packaging will, with a 90% chance, end up in landfill. We're dealing with a horrible reality, but trying to make the best of a bad situation,” Gardner explains. “In the inevitability that our product ends up in landfill, what it will have done is trapped carbon from entering the atmosphere and it will be inert. It will be better waste plastic sitting in a landfill with all of the other mostly virgin plastic.” (source: Beauty Matter).
About Element Beauty Group
“The fluidity of innovation and creativity in motion.”
Founded in 2017, by Ulrich Lerissel and Nick Gardner, Element Packaging is a global resource for innovative, sustainable packaging solutions within the color cosmetics, beauty, skincare wellness and home care industries. A full service company, Element manages the process of development, from concept through design and manufacturing in collaboration with long-term partnerships throughout the world.
Composed of three divisions - Element Beauty Group, Element Material Sciences and Element Design & Engineering, providing leading-edge solutions to a variety of sustainable packaging needs.
About Oco technologies:
Oco is the consumer brand of Carbon Upcycling Technologies, a waste and carbon utilization company unlocking a new frontier of circular materials. Carbon Upcycling is tackling the biggest problems on the planet—climate change and industrial waste. Applying a novel technology platform, the company enables hard-to-decarbonize industry to transform local industrial byproducts and natural materials into superior additives. Oco offers materials solutions for decarbonization to the consumer goods sector.Oco’s low-carbon material solutions help consumer goods brands take their first steps towards reaching their environmental goals.