Mono-material Packaging Manufacturers Face Costly Challenges from Unmanaged Static, Warns Meech
- Published: September 25, 2025
As U.S. manufacturers ramp up adoption of recyclable mono-material packaging, Meech International is warning that unmanaged static is creating unexpected challenges that threaten to undermine both the productivity and sustainability gains driving the shift.
Consumer demand for recyclable packaging, expanding Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation now active in seven states, and ambitious corporate sustainability pledges are accelerating the move to mono-material packaging across food and beverage, healthcare, personal care and industrial sectors. Industry data shows that by 2024, over 68% of consumer packaged goods manufacturers worldwide had adopted mono-material solutions to some extent, and more than 74% of major U.S. food brands had adopted polyethylene (PE) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET)-based mono-material films.
In addition to improving recyclability, mono-material strategies can help manufacturers cut costs by reducing raw material use. New technologies such as Machine Direction Orientation (MDO) optimize materials like PE by enhancing properties such as stiffness, transparency and heat resistance. This allows films to be made thinner and lighter without compromising performance, lowering both material costs and transportation expenses.
However, the four key processes in the technology – heating, stretching, annealing and cooling – each generate significant static charges, the consequences of which include higher levels of contamination, print defects, material waste and costly unplanned stoppages.
A recent analysis carried out for a customer with a single ‘traditional’ 1,200mm wide press demonstrated that static-related stoppages and print defects were responsible for a $17,500 monthly loss in raw materials of ink and substrate. For mono-material packaging production, these costs are likely to be even higher.
“We are seeing much higher levels of static build-up with new material chemistries and processes where 8 to 10 rollers are involved,” said Kevin Lipely, National Sales Manager at Meech USA. “The amount of static and the scale of loss has the potential to be many times greater than for conventional materials due to the increased complexity and operating speeds of the new technology.
“Our research shows that new blown film technologies require more specialized static management and web cleaning at several key stages of production to address issues that are unique to these processes and materials.”
One of these new problems is the build-up of powder and flakes thought to be derived from additives such as slip agents in the new materials, which migrate to the material surface and form waxy flakes. As the film flexes over rollers, those flakes shed and contaminate the line. Equipment is having to be stopped for long periods for cleaning. Where this stoppage doesn’t take place, print quality is being affected and more product is being rejected.
“In today’s competitive and cost-sensitive environment, the hidden costs of unmanaged static can be devastating – undoing the very efficiency and cost-savings that are motivating businesses to adopt mono-material films in the first place,” remarked Lipely.
“Investing in robust static and contamination control is now a non-negotiable step if manufacturers want to fully realise the sustainability and productivity benefits of technologies like MDO.”
Meech, a global leader in static control and web cleaning systems, has developed a bespoke system specifically to address the unique challenges of mono-material film lines. Based on its well-established VacClean solution, the system combines programmable ionization bars with turbulent vacuum air flows through highly polished low friction contact plates to remove static and contamination at multiple critical points in the process.
Meech will showcase its latest static control and web cleaning innovations at Pack Expo Las Vegas 2025 (Sept. 29–Oct. 1), booth SL-10046, where experts will be available to discuss how converters can optimize mono-material film processing for both sustainability and profitability.
