{"id":7560,"date":"2026-08-28T10:10:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T04:40:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mamata.com\/blog\/?p=7560"},"modified":"2026-08-30T11:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:21:08","slug":"rectech-the-recyclable-flexible-laminate-that-solves-packagings-biggest-unsolved-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mamata.com\/blog\/rectech-the-recyclable-flexible-laminate-that-solves-packagings-biggest-unsolved-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"RecTech\u2122: The Recyclable Flexible Laminate That Solves Packaging’s Biggest Unsolved Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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At the 13th Speciality Films & Flexible Packaging Global Summit & Exhibition (Elite Plus), held on 26\u201327 August 2026 at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, Mamata Machinery took the stage as a Prestigious Platinum Partner and used it to address a problem the entire industry has been circling for years: the lack of a truly recyclable flexible film.<\/strong>

Our President, Mr. V. Rajashekar, presented RecTech\u2122<\/strong> a recyclable mono-material packaging technology developed in-house \u2014 to an audience of brand owners, converters, recyclers, and policymakers.<\/p>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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The Problem: Flexible Packaging's Recycling Gap<\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
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Flexible packaging is the backbone of India's packaging industry. According to figures shared in the presentation, India's flexible packaging market currently stands at $20.5 billion, growing at 11.5% annually, and is estimated to surpass $35 billion by 2030. Flexible formats account for roughly 70\u201375% of India's total plastic packaging usage driven largely by demand from the FMCG sector, which values flexible packaging for its versatility.

But that scale comes with a cost. To meet demand, the industry has relied on multi-layer plastic (MLP) structures compositions that deliver strong barrier performance but are largely non-recyclable. The result: a growing volume of flexible packaging waste that has no viable end-of-life pathway, much of it ending up in landfill.

Regulation is catching up. India's Plastic Waste Management Rules now mandate a minimum percentage of recycled content in flexible packaging, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks  alongside recycled-content mandates  are tightening across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Other packaging categories have already solved this. PET bottles are collected and reprocessed into PET bottles again. Paper-based packaging has a mature recovery chain. Even milk pouches in India  a flexible format have cracked the problem, because the structure was standardized enough to be collected and reprocessed at scale.

Flexible-to-flexible recycling, however, has lagged behind  not because a solution wasn't possible, but because no standard, harmonized film structure existed to give end-of-life value to the material.<\/p>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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Four Conditions for a Real Solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
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Solving flexible-film recyclability, as outlined in the presentation, isn't a single-variable problem. It requires addressing four things at once:<\/p>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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  1. A standard recipe or structure<\/strong> \u2014 ideally a mono-material substrate, with roughly 90% of the structure falling within a single material family.<\/li>
  2. Functionality<\/strong> \u2014 the recyclable structure must deliver barrier and performance levels comparable to legacy multi-material laminates.<\/li>
  3. Affordability<\/strong> \u2014 the cost delta versus existing structures has to stay within a range brand owners and consumers can absorb.<\/li>
  4. Scalable supply chain<\/strong> \u2014 the solution needs to be producible at industrial scale, not just in a lab.<\/li><\/ol>

    Solve only one or two of these, and the knot gets tighter rather than looser. Mamata’s R&D and technical teams set out to solve all four together.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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    Introducing RecTech\u2122<\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
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    RecTech\u2122 is Mamata Machinery's recyclable mono-material packaging technology \u2014 a 9-layer, co-extruded mono-material film that can be laminated with reverse-print BOPP.Three design choices make it work:

    A true mono-material substrate<\/strong>, engineered rather than adapted from existing multi-material formats.
    Compatibility with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content<\/strong>, encapsulated without compromising the outer sealing layers \u2014 meaning recycled input doesn't come at the cost of performance.
    An ultra-thin EVOH barrier layer<\/strong>, delivering barrier performance reported to exceed legacy PET-PE structures.

    RecTech\u2122 has received barrier-performance certification from the Indian Institute of Packaging (Kolkata) and Mitsubishi Chemical (Singapore), and recyclability certification from SIPC (India) and HDPE Cycles (Europe), with APR (US) certification underway.

    RecTech\u2122 cuts carbon footprint by 25\u201338% versus standard PET-PE structures across material, manufacturing, and end-of-life stages, at a cost delta of approximately 5% versus conventional PET-PE laminate. Under India's EPR framework, RecTech\u2122 qualifies as Category 2 packaging rather than Category 3 \u2014 a classification that means lower cost and transport cost, and far lower exposure to non-compliance penalties.<\/p>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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    Built on Existing Machinery, Not a New Supply Chain<\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
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    A key design principle behind RecTech\u2122 is that it doesn't ask the industry to rebuild its infrastructure. It's engineered to work with Mamata's existing co-extrusion film technology and converting machinery \u2014 the same pouch-making and bag-making equipment already in use across brand owners' and converters' operations.
    That means RecTech\u2122 can move into existing production lines rather than requiring an entirely new value chain \u2014 a meaningful distinction for an industry where capital equipment cycles are long.<\/p>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n

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    Where RecTech\u2122 Can Be Used Today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n
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    RecTech\u2122 is built to replace flexible PET-PE structures up to 70 microns in thickness across a wide range of applications, including:<\/p>