The material, which is made from BASF's Ultramid Ccycled brand, is used in sausage packaging for company cafeterias.
 

In a joint initiative between packaging manufacturer Südpack and meat products supplier Werz Wurst-Fleisch-Convenience GmbH, BASF's chemically recycled polyamide Ultramid Ccycled is being used in meat and sausage packaging for the first time, according to the chemical company BASF. Südpack uses the BASF raw material for the thermoforming films of the sausage packaging. This is obtained from pyrolysis oil from chemically recycled mixed plastic waste and assigned to the Ultramid Ccycled products using a mass balance approach. Ultramid Ccycled is said by BASF to be of the same quality as conventional plastics and is suitable for demanding applications such as food packaging. ‘The use of recycled materials in packaging shows that the requirements of the European Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) can be met by chemical recycling,’ says Dr Paul Neumann, sustainability expert at BASF. “The PPWR stipulates mandatory recycling quotas for touch-sensitive packaging from 2030,” explains Neumann. This also applies to products in the food and catering sectors. According to BASF, Südpack's high-barrier packaging film has been evaluated as recyclable according to the current German minimum standard. ‘This means that this high-quality meat packaging can also be recycled in the dual system and is fed into it after use – a true circular packaging,’ says Neumann. The new packaging solution is said to be suitable for use in the hotel and restaurant industry (Horeca). Among other things, it is said to be suitable for packaging sausage products used in the staff restaurants at the BASF sites in Ludwigshafen, Limburgerhof and Lampertheim.
 
Sources:

• Press release BASF (8.4.2025)
• Photo: © BASF SE