[GreenYes] more on FritoLay go-pack

[EarthGB@aol.com]

Dear All,
  Following up on my earlier post re this package, I got one at the store so 
I could check out the composition.  Questions had been raised re: (1) what 
does #2 HDPE-EVOH COMPATIBLE code mean, (2) what does the #7 code also on 
package bottom indicate, and (3) is this a blow-molded bottle that can be 
recycled with HDPE bottle loads.
  Now, I'm not a polymer chemist, nor do I have a lab.  I just eyeballed the 
package & tried a few simple tests.  Therefore, I'm suggesting what I think 
this new creation is, but still urge that research should be done with 
higher-ups at Frito-Lay.  Pls take the following as a working hypothesis:

1.  The go-pack is an easy-to-hold, black cylinder made of HDPE (body) with a 
snap-off cap that doubles as a cup into which you can pour the mini-snacks.  
The snacks are not separately wrapped within the package, but are loose in 
the tube, and come into contact with the tube interior.
2.  The snap-off cap/cup is itself coded on the inside--#5-PP (polypropylene).
3.  The mouth of the cylinder body has a vacuum seal made of plastic, also.  
It's metallized to look like Al foil.  Not sure what resin this is.  Maybe 
this is what the #7-other refers to.
4.  My hunch is that the EVOH is an inner barrier layer (against 
oxygen/moisture) applied to the HDPE body.  I say this because the inside of 
the cylinder is very shiny, whereas HDPE usually has a mat (semi-glossy) 
finish.
5.  The outer sleeve label, which wraps the entire body of the cylinder but 
not the cap, MAY be PVC.  Michele Raymond suggested this, and a flame test I 
did suggests the same.  This material is very similar to the tamper evident 
wraps one finds on so many products now.  Many of these are PVC (#3).
6.  I'm guessing that the package is injection-molded not blow-molded, 
because the neck is not smaller than the body.  This means if one's HDPE 
market is for bottles only, the package wouldn't be accepted.
7.  In fact, given the outer sleeve, the PP cap, & the inner vacuum seal, I 
surmise that this package would be problematic for HDPE markets UNLESS all of 
the non-HDPE components are removed by the consumer (which could happen in 
use), and the item IS blow-molded.  The vacuum seal easily & fully tears off; 
the PVC(?) sleeve does not tear easily, so one would have to be motivated to 
make the effort to remove the whole sleeve.  Tho it's perforated, I had to 
use scissors to get the sleeve all the way off.
8.  If I'm correct about the inner barrier layer of EVOH being co-extruded on 
the HDPE, then there still is a remote possibiliity that the tube is made of 
recycled HDPE.  The EVOH barrier would prevent the food from making direct 
contact with the recycled plastic.  Other packages with inner barrier layers 
of EVOH or other virgin resins have received non-objection letters from FDA.

  There you have it.  Good luck with further research.

Gretchen Brewer
Earth Circle
San Diego, CA  

 
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