So traditionally, release liners are made out of a base substrate that carries the facestock, such as supercalendered paper, glassine or PET.
This substrate is usually coated with a layer of silicone or another type of release agent, the reason for the release agent is to allow the face stock (label) to be easily removed from the liner(peel away easily from the liner).
When you look at the label industry the majority of release liners are made from 100% virgin materials and are usually not recycled after use as it is very difficult for most to recycle. Having said that, atraditional silicone coated release liner can be recycled, it must be sent to a manufacturers in the US (there are very few) that has the equipment to separate the silicone from the paper, so the paper can be recycled and be reused for other products. This process can be expensive for most and its not the most ecofriendly process.
There is now an alternative to the problem that has faced the label industry since the beginning. Labelcraft Products has developed the worlds first release liner made of 100% post consumer waste that can be curbside recycled after use – closing the loop and moving to a more sustainable future for the label industry
