A pilot project using recycled packaging for roofing material has been completed at Holland’s Kraft Heinz manufacturing plant. The project was intended to demonstrate the use of roof board made from recycled flexible packaging. The test was made possible by the company’s participation in Materials Recovery for the Future (MRFF), a nonprofit research group that aims to prove the economic feasibility of collecting, sorting and recycling plastic packaging.
Through the project, Kraft Heinz used material made from post-consumer flexible plastic to install roofing at manufacturing plants in Holland and Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. Installation was completed in late 2020. Kraft Heinz uses flexible plastic packaging across its product portfolio. The pilot project will be monitored for performance against standard building materials. If the recycled material performs as well or better than the standard materials, Kraft Heinz will consider standardizing the use of recycled material in the future.
“It was a privilege being part of MRFF, which not only helped identify ways to curbside collect and recycle flexible packaging, but also identified end markets that we could leverage within our facilities,” said Senior Principal Packaging Engineer Erik Groner.