Standards Development

Scope

This international standard specifies design guidelines and testing methods for packaging suppliers to help consumers easily separate shrink labels from plastic bottles and effectively recycle plastic bottles during waste collection.

Purpose

This standard specifies design guidelines and test methods for non-attachable shrink label with density greater than 1 which cannot be separated from plastic bottles while excluding both attachable and non attachable labels with density lower than 1 that can be separated from plastic bottles during the separation stage of the recycling process.

Plastic bottle packaging can be used as recycling materials for making high value-added recycled products after usage by recycling process so that either the printed labels with density lower than 1 shall be provided to make them separate from plastic flakes during the sink-float separation step of the recycling process, or a structure such as the perforated line on the shrink label shall be provided to remove them easily from plastic bottles by consumers. Depending on the shape of bottles, the material and thickness of labels, the size of holes and spacing between holes, it would be still difficult for consumers to separate the shrink labels, although the perforated line on the shrink label shall be provided.

This standard has been developed for packaging suppliers to have a guideline for evaluating the ease of removability of labels and related test methods. This standard has been developed considering design consideration to make shrink labels possible for ease of removable as follows;

a) providing perforated line, the starting part of separation, and eco-tab;

b) design consideration: the representation for the starting part of removable label and , eco-tab, the material of label, the shape of bottles, the size of holes and spacing between holes, the position of perforated line, the clearance between the packaging body and label, tools for ease of separation.