EcoCore an ‘injection moulding technology for the future’ as options for more sustainable plastics grow

As consumers start to see EcoCore® cups made with Borealis resins using plant-based and chemically recycled plastic feedstocks, Henri Gaskjenn, Bockatech CEO, answers questions about the foaming technology's ability to use new, more sustainable plastics and what this means for the future.

Foamo reusable retail cups made with EcoCore use plastic with plant-based feedstock from used vegetable oil and residue. Image rights Foamo

Q — Is EcoCore relevant to new, more sustainable plastics?

Absolutely. EcoCore's promise is to get more from less, cutting the amount of material necessary and improving performance. This is as true for new plastic materials as it is for well-established ones.

Getting more out of sustainable plastics is critical, as they’re often costlier than older plastics that have benefited from refinements in production and large-scale manufacture for longer. Simply put, cutting the amount of new plastics used in applications improves their economic viability and boosts adoption.

Q — How are you addressing environmental concerns about plastic packaging?

We’re working to ensure that plastic packaging produced in the future addresses sustainability issues by reducing the amount of plastic used, increasing recyclability, and making more reuse viable.

We also see lots of development of new materials that have reduced environmental impact and we continually work to find out how EcoCore will work with these.

CEO Henri Gaskjenn at the Bockatch UK R&D centre

Q — Do you think that plastic packaging will still be around in the future?

Injection-moulded plastic packaging offers so many advantages for many applications that it’s difficult to imagine it being replaced.

Market analysis also supports this view. The packaging sector uses the most plastic and based on current growth the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) projects that annual plastic production will increase by 70% by 2040 compared to 2020.

Fundamentally, there's no reason why plastic packaging should not continue if the great progress made already, with improving sustainability and reducing litter pollution, continues. EcoCore is powering this tranformation — boosting reuse and recyclability as well as cuting material use. These, together with improvements in materials, recyclate production and efforts to collect plastic, will make sure this progress carries on.

Q — What new plastics can you use?

In 2020, we proved EcoCore's compatibility with Borealis resins made from mechanically recycled plastics for many non-food contact applications.

Now, people can also see for themselves the new Foamo retail cup, made with Borealis Bornewables. This plastic uses plant-based feedstock in the form of used vegetable oil and residue from its manufacture. Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) has also shown that it has a lower carbon footprint and it's from a source that does not affect food security.

Later this year, EcoCore reusable cups, made with OMV ReOil® from chemically recycled plastics, will be available at Messe Düsseldorf for the K2025 plastics show. The well-known event attracts 170,000 visitors from around the globe every three years.

Visitors to the K2025 plastics show at Messe Düsseldorf will be able to use EcoCore reusable cups made from chemically recyled plastic. Image rights Borealis

Q — What are the opportunities and challenges for new materials?

New plastics are constantly emerging and initially tend to provide many of the physical properties, such as strength and flowability, of existing plastic types. This drives adoption by leveraging existing infrastructures — for example production, waste sorting and recycling — to enable fast global transition at scale. Borealis chemically and mechanically recycled resins as well as Bornewables, are good examples of this.

It’s also great to see so many new plastics made from alternative renewable feedstocks and resins that are compostable and biodegradable. The challenge for these is often performance and how to dispose of them without contaminating existing recycling streams.

Q — What about future materials?

We’ve got some really exciting new bio and eco plastic materials to test. We continue to trial new materials as they come through to show manufacturers how they can benefit from EcoCore’s proven ability to reduce plastic and improve performance.

EcoCore is an injection moulding technology for the future. Our focus is on supporting clients' long-term success, no matter the material. We provide a robust manufacturing platform with measurable results today that will support the transition to more sustainable alternatives tomorrow.