SABIC, retail operator Schwarz to introduce circular PE vegetable bags in German shops

LONDON (ICIS)–SABIC and European retail store operator Schwarz Group have signed a deal to roll out transparent film bags made from circular polyethylene (PE) for vegetable packaging, the Saudi petrochemicals major said on Thursday.

SABIC said the bags will be produced using different proprietary PE technologies from its Trucircle portfolio.

Schwarz will kick off the introduction with 1kg bags for organic carrots in selected Lidl and Kaufland supermarkets in Germany, between October and December.

“Our comprehensive strategy is to make all Lidl and Kaufland brand plastic packaging as recyclable as possible by 2025, thereby reducing overall plastic consumption by 20%,” said Dietmar Bohm, managing director of GreenCycle, which servers as a waste management and recycling service provider for Schwarz Group and other companies.

SABIC’s circular polymers in the pilot project include both low-density and linear low-density polyethylene (LDPE/LLDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and metallocene polyethylene (mPE) resins, the company added.