October 11, 2022
BOBST oneBARRIER PrimeCycle: AlOx High-Barrier PE Monomaterial Substrate Certified for 98% Recyclability
In September 2022, the Germany-based Institute cyclos-HTP GmbH awarded BOBST recyclability certification for the oneBARRIER PrimeCycle AlOx high-barrier PE monomaterial packaging substrate, confirming a recyclability level of 98%.
Certification and performance
The certification is EU-wide, covering all EU countries listed in the certificate that have infrastructure for recycling PE. The newly certified oneBARRIER PrimeCycle AlOx PE solution is a recycle-ready, high-barrier, transparent, AlOx-based, full-PE mono-material substrate—developed to deliver barrier performance equivalent to non-recyclable mixed-material structures, most notably metallized polyester film.
"We are doubly proud of this achievement—because of the certification, of course, but also because 98% is an extremely high recyclability level, especially for films in the high-barrier segment, which always require some additional non-mono material to provide functional barrier enhancement," said Nick Copeland, R&D Director, Barrier Solutions at BOBST, referencing CEFLEX guidelines, which set a greater-than-90% threshold for mono-material classification.
Recyclability, expressed as a percentage, represents the proportion of a product's valuable material that remains available after use—relative to total packaging mass—for reuse through high-quality recycling and monetary value creation.
About the certification
Institute cyclos-HTP GmbH is an independent German consulting firm based in Aachen, specializing in classifying, assessing, and certifying the recyclability of packaging and goods. Its verification process follows nine criteria, leading to EU-wide recyclability certification.
About oneBARRIER PrimeCycle
oneBARRIER PrimeCycle is part of BOBST's oneBARRIER family of sustainable packaging solutions, developed with a dedicated ecosystem of partners—most notably recycle-ready, mono-material, polyolefin-based packaging substrates.
Other oneBARRIER solutions, including FibreCycle, a recycle-ready, high-barrier, paper/fiber-based packaging line, have already advanced from R&D to industrialized solutions, while development continues on compostable and biodegradable packaging substrates.