PureCycle and IPL Schoeller launch recycled PP container

PureCycle Technologies and IPL Schoeller have developed SnapPack Square EVO, a tamper-evident container containing 20% PureFive recycled polypropylene in every unit. The container has been introduced as part of IPL Schoeller’s tamper-evident packaging portfolio and is intended as an off-the-shelf option for brand owners seeking to meet incoming recycled content requirements without the time and cost associated with a custom development programme. PureCycle’s PureFive resin is produced through a patented physical dissolution recycling process that removes colour, odour, additives and other materials from post-consumer recycled polypropylene. According to the companies, the recycled resin offers properties comparable to virgin plastics.

Regulatory context for recycled content

The launch has been positioned against incoming packaging regulation, including Extended Producer Responsibility requirements in states such as California and Oregon. These requirements are expected to introduce source reduction and recyclability obligations as soon as 2027.

In New Jersey, the Recycled Content Law requires plastic packaging to contain at least 10% post-consumer recycled content. This threshold is scheduled to rise to 20% and include food packaging by 2027, before increasing to 50% by 2036.

PureFive resin was recently recognized as qualifying recycled content under the Recycled Content Law. It is also certified for post-consumer recycled content by the Association of Plastic Recyclers.

From a single project to a standard platform

The container line expands the collaboration between PureCycle and IPL Schoeller with Cleveland Kitchen, a private-label supplier of refrigerated pickle products. The development moves from a single product to a standardized container platform covering multiple categories.

SnapPack Square EVO is expected to become available to brand owners in autumn 2026. Additional sizes and formats are planned as the line is rolled out.

"Brand owners are being asked to meet recycled content targets on a timeline that a custom packaging programme often can’t match," said Christian Bruey, PureCycle’s director of Sustainability and External Affairs. "SnapPack Square EVO gives them a container that already contains PureFive resin, already performs like the packaging they know, and is already built for the regulatory environment they’re walking into. It’s a way to move fast without reinventing a package from scratch."

"Our work with PureCycle on the Cleveland Kitchen container showed us that recycled content and performance don’t have to be a trade-off," added Melissa Vettleson, IPL Schoeller Sustainability and Materials Engineer. "SnapPack EVO takes what we learned from that programme and turns it into a standard offering, so any brand owner can bring PureFive resin into their packaging without starting from zero. It’s a faster, lower-risk way to build recycled content into a container line."

Other uses of recycled polypropylene

In a previous collaboration, PureCycle worked with Procter & Gamble to integrate recycled polypropylene resin into spout and dose caps for selected bottles of its most recognizable consumer products.

Innovia Films has also used PureCycle’s recycled polypropylene resin in its white, cavitated BOPP film, which is said to enable more than 40% post-consumer recycled content for food-contact applications.

In another development, Mondelēz International worked with Amcor, LyondellBasell and Taghleef Industries to incorporate 75% chemically recycled content into flexible packaging for Marabou chocolate bars.