Artience, DIC issue Japan’s first flexible film recycling standard

JAPAN – The artience Group, through packaging subsidiary Toyo Ink, and DIC Corporation have issued Japan’s first shared industry protocol, setting common test procedures, evaluation criteria and reporting formats for deinking and debonding in flexible film packaging recycling.

The framework creates a unified environment in which converters, brand owners and recyclers can assess and compare recyclability against domestic standards rather than company-specific conditions. 

Flexible packaging combines films, printing inks and laminating adhesives, making deinking, which strips printed ink, and debonding, which separates layered films, essential to recovering high-quality material. 

Previously, Japanese evaluations relied on proprietary test conditions, preventing comparison between companies or materials and obstructing recyclability assessment at the design stage.

Three Elements Define the Standard

The protocol rests on three components. 

Test procedures specify equipment, conditions, material handling and operational steps to improve reproducibility within Japanese testing environments. 

Evaluation criteria establish objective measures for deinking and debonding efficiency and the resulting quality of recycled plastic. 

A reporting format standardises test conditions and results into a single structure, easing information exchange among domestic stakeholders.

Converters, Brands and Recyclers Gain Distinct Benefits

For converters, the protocol simplifies selection of printing and processing conditions and materials that prioritise recyclability. 

Brand owners can choose highly recyclable packaging materials using objective data. Recyclers can set processing conditions matched to material characteristics, lifting recycled plastic quality. 

These gains matter because flexible packaging serves food, daily necessities and pharmaceuticals, sectors where functionality requirements have historically limited design-for-recycling choices.

Government Backs Circular Economy as Growth Strategy

Fluctuating resource prices and rising geopolitical risk have intensified pressure to treat used plastics as resources, with the Japanese government positioning the circular economy as a key growth strategy. 

Demand has grown for designs that ease recycling and for greater use of high-quality recycled plastics. 

The protocol was developed jointly by two printing ink manufacturers, crossing competitive boundaries to address Japan’s specific recycling infrastructure. 

Both companies said they would refine the protocol’s accuracy and practicality using insights from actual packaging materials and recycling processes, inviting Japanese industry stakeholders to adopt it as the standard for recyclability assessment in flexible packaging.

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