New Black Colorants from PolyOne Support Circular Economy, Turn Former Waste into Recyclable Packaging

July 8, 2019

CLEVELAND – July 8, 2019 – PolyOne today launched a new portfolio of infrared- detectable black colorants for plastic packaging, which will allow formerly unrecyclable black waste plastic to be properly sorted at recycling facilities. These colorants will help black packaging support the circular economy by enabling them to be recycled rather than landfilled.

OnColor™ Infrared Sortable Black for Recyclable Packaging contain no carbon black pigment, permitting the automatic optical sorting sensors used in many waste management plants to detect black polymers and sort waste into the correct recycling streams.

Detection and sorting of carbon black-filled plastic waste in material recovery facilities is a vexing issue for the packaging and recycling industries, because the equipment relies on the reflectance of near infrared (NIR) wavelengths. Carbon black makes it impossible for the equipment to identify the waste, which must then be sent to landfill or incineration.

PolyOne’s new black colorants address this issue by eliminating carbon black and enabling black plastics to be sensed, sorted, and recycled efficiently. They can also help brand owners to retain current black packaging that was deemed unrecyclable.

OnColor™ Infrared Sortable Blacks for Recyclable Packaging is available in both liquid and solid form in a range of eight black shades as well as custom colors. Additional information about this collection can be found here.

These colorants are the latest addition to PolyOne’s robust sustainability portfolio that supports improved recyclability and the goal of a Circular Economy. For more on sustainability, visit www.polyone.com/company/sustainability.

About PolyOne

PolyOne Corporation (NYSE: POL), with 2018 revenues of $3.5 billion, is a premier provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions. The company adds value to global customers and improves sustainability through formulating materials, such as:

• Barrier technologies that preserve the shelf-life and quality of food, beverages, medicine and other perishable goods through high-performance materials that require less plastic
• Light-weighting solutions that replace heavier traditional materials like metal, glass and wood, which can improve fuel efficiency in all modes of transportation
• Breakthrough technologies that minimize wastewater and improve the recyclability of materials and packaging across a spectrum of end uses.

PolyOne employs approximately 6,900 associates, is certified ACC Responsible Care® and Great Place to Work®, and is a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste.  For more information, visit www.polyone.com.

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PHOTO CAPTION: OnColor™ Infrared Sortable Blacks Enable Detection and Recycling of Black Polymer Packaging in Waste Plants

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Media contacts

Michelle Maniscalco
Senior Manager, Marketing Communications
PolyOne Corporation
+1 440-930-1988
michelle.maniscalco@avient.com