Packaging technology specialist EcoCortec has kickstarted its partnership with German packaging company Jakob Schober by delivering plastic waste from the German town of Waldorf to Beli Manastir, Croatia.

The direct customer-manufacturer relationship will see plastic scrap recovered and incorporated back into finished goods at EcoCortec’s recycling facility.

The scrap is re-granulated using reprocessing equipment and tested in a laboratory before being used in film production.

Working in the VCI (vapour corrosion inhibiting) films market, EcoCortec uses post-consumer recycled content (PCR). The company’s VpCI-126 PCR film product is ordered by Jakob Schober to create 3D bags for its export packaging kits.

VCI molecules protect metals from corrosion by forming a thin, invisible layer on the surface. This layer inhibits the corrosion process caused by oxygen, water and contaminants.

EcoCortec also works with a local construction company to take its used packaging, further expanding the use of PCR in finished goods. The company states it is seeking more recycling partners to help increase its volume of recycled content in VpCI films.

EcoCortec’s recycling facility in Beli Manastir, Croatia, was first announced in 2017 and was co-financed by the Croatian Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts within the European Funds Programme.

The company’s sister organisation, CorteCros, provides corrosion protection products for industrial fields.