Recycled materials
Odor in recycled plastics: causes and a plan to test the additive
Practical steps to understand the odor source and reduce its impact, with cautious language on results.
Odor in recycled plastics can cause a product to be rejected even when it looks acceptable, especially when the end product contacts food or is stored sealed. The problem varies by material source, contamination level, and previous use.
Before any solution, try to understand the odor source: is it from residues of previous content, from storage, or from the processing itself? Odor that appears after cooling or storage is often different from odor at the moment of processing.
An Odor Control masterbatch helps reduce unwanted odors and improve the finished product's smell, and it is especially useful with recycled material. But the result depends on the odor source, material type, contamination level, and dosage.
It is important to be clear: complete odor removal cannot be guaranteed for every material without a real trial. The practical goal is a noticeable reduction that makes the product acceptable to the end customer.
Because the material source changes from batch to batch, the best step is to test a sample on the same material batch you will run before committing to a large quantity.