PolyAl glossary: every term you need to understand the industry

If you have just started working with PolyAl — as a buyer, recycler, regulator or journalist — the vocabulary can be dense. This page is a single-stop glossary of every term you will encounter, in plain language, with cross-references to the rest of this site.

ACE **Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment.** European industry body representing carton manufacturers and their suppliers. Publishes the official EU recycling-rate statistics and sets industry-wide commitments (currently: 70% recycling rate by 2030, 90% long-term).

aluLDPE A common commercial name for PolyAl-derived regranulate, used by **Plastigram Industries** and others. Refers to the resulting compound: low-density polyethylene with aluminium as a functional filler.

Aseptic carton A type of beverage carton that combines paperboard, polyethylene and aluminium foil to keep the contents shelf-stable for months without refrigeration. Aseptic cartons typically contain 4–6% aluminium by mass — slightly higher than chilled cartons, which often have no aluminium layer.

Beverage carton A multi-layer drink container, typically used for milk, juice, plant-based drinks, broths and similar liquid foods. Always contains paperboard and polyethylene; aseptic versions also contain aluminium.

CSRD **Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive** — EU directive requiring large companies to report sustainability information following the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), including E1 (climate) and E5 (resources and circular economy). Recycled-content reporting under PolyAl directly feeds these disclosures.

Drop-in replacement A material that can be used in existing manufacturing equipment without modification. PolyAl pellets are a drop-in replacement for virgin HDPE in most injection moulding and extrusion lines, requiring only minor parameter retuning.

EPR **Extended Producer Responsibility** — regulatory principle that holds producers financially responsible for the end-of-life management of their packaging. EPR fees fund the carton-collection and recycling infrastructure that produces PolyAl reject.

ESRS E1 / E5 European Sustainability Reporting Standards covering climate (**E1**) and resource use & circular economy (**E5**). Both reference recycled-content metrics relevant to PolyAl users.

GHG Protocol Scope 3 The internationally recognised standard for accounting greenhouse gas emissions from a company's value chain. **Category 1 (purchased goods and services)** is the category where switching virgin HDPE to PolyAl pellets shows up.

HDPE **High-density polyethylene** — the virgin polymer that PolyAl pellets typically replace in industrial applications. Density 940–965 kg/m³, MFI commonly in the 0.3–8 g/10min range. PolyAl matches HDPE on most pallet, profile and crate specs.

MFI **Melt flow index** — a measure of polymer flow at a defined temperature and load (190 °C, 2.16 kg for HDPE-style materials). ISCC PLUS Certified PolyAl pellets are typically in the 2–4 g/10min range. Standard: ISO 1133-1.

Palurec GmbH German operator (Hürth, Knapsack chemical park) that physically separates PolyAl into pure PE and pure aluminium streams. Joint venture of the main beverage-carton manufacturers. Industrial operation since April 2021.

Plastigram Industries a.s. Czech operator producing aluLDPE regranulate from PolyAl. Sokolov industrial line.

PolyAl The polyethylene-aluminium fraction of beverage cartons recovered after paper extraction. Also written **Poly-Al**, **polyAl** or **PolyAL**.

PPWR **Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation** — EU regulation adopted in 2024, applicable from 2030, with minimum recycled-content quotas for plastic packaging.

PCR **Post-consumer recycled** — material recovered after a consumer has used the product. PolyAl pellets are 100% post-consumer recycled because the feedstock comes from used beverage cartons.

Pyrolysis Thermal cracking of plastic in the absence of oxygen, producing pyrolysis oil (a synthetic naphtha) and a residual char. One of the four routes for PolyAl recycling, alongside mechanical washing/pelletising, mechanical separation and selective dissolution.

Recon Polymers Dutch operator that converts PolyAl into engineering composites for industrial applications.

Selective dissolution-precipitation (SDP) Solvent-based pilot-scale process for recovering near-pure polyethylene from PolyAl reject. Documented in *Resources, Conservation and Recycling* (Pappa et al., 2020).

Tecnalia Spanish independent applied-research and testing organisation. Profiles extruded from PolyAl have been validated by Tecnalia for **UNE 56875:2021** (chemical resistance, intensive-use rating) and **UNE-EN 14195:2015** (torsion 0.040 ≤ 0.1 limit).

UNE 53925:2026 The Spanish technical standard, published in 2026 by AENOR, defining specifications and traceability rules for recycled PolyAl pellets. Currently the only European national standard dedicated specifically to PolyAl.

UNE 56875:2021 Spanish standard defining classification of profiles by their resistance to cleaning chemicals. Profiles extruded from PolyAl carry the **intensive-use** rating.

UNE-EN 14195:2015 European standard covering metallic frames for plasterboard systems. Used in PolyAl validation testing for the maximum allowable torsion of extruded profiles (limit ≤ 0.1; PolyAl profiles measure 0.040).

Vicat softening point The temperature at which a thermoplastic begins to soften under a defined load (ISO 306). Vicat for PolyAl: 90–100 °C — comparable to standard HDPE pallet grades.

WPC **Wood-plastic composite** — a competing material for outdoor decking and profiles. PolyAl typically outperforms WPC on moisture resistance, chemical resistance and long-term creep.