At Aptar, we are dedicated to partnering with brands to transform their products with high-performing and sustainable solutions, while positively impacting our planet and the lives of consumers everywhere. Our SimpliCycle™ recyclable valve is just one example of this.

SimpliCycle has received Critical Guidance Recognition from the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR), a recognition that acknowledges technologies or packaging components that solve long-standing problems with packaging sustainability. In addition, it has been assessed by third parties such as Cyclos and RecyClass, confirming its compatibility with the readily available sorting and recycling sector in Europe.

The SimpliCycle Solution

A special type of silicone valve named Swimming Silicone®, first offered by Aptar in 2010, was specially formulated to have a low enough density to enable it to float to the top of the separation tank with PE, PP and TPE. This “swimming silicone” material allowed the valve to be separated from PET flakes, such as water PET bottles, making the sorting process easy and more efficient for PET recyclers. However, due to its inherent material properties, the swimming silicone valve, along with the regular silicone valve, could not be reground and used as feedstock for new silicone parts.

Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE), like swimming silicone, is a material that has a density low enough to allow it to float to the top of a separation tank by density. However, unlike silicone, it can be melted and combined with PP and PE to create recycled granulates that can be fed back into the manufacturing stream.

The TPE-based SimpliCycle™ valve is the next generation of fully recyclable flow control solutions produced by Aptar. SimpliCycle can be paired with PP and PE closures and is the only recyclable valve in the market today that delivers the same performance as silicone valves. Altogether, SimpliCycle was designed to help brands achieve their packaging recyclability goals without compromising functionality and consumer experience.

To discover more of Aptar's innovations and solutions, please contact us here.