The Hague, The Netherlands—Afera, the European Adhesive Tape Association, has released a new guidance document on “Sustainable use of Adhesive Tapes” as part of the work undertaken by the Advocacy Workstream of Afera’s Flagship Sustainability Project (AFSP). The purpose of this guidance document is to provide information to end users about the various types of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes and their properties, and to share best practices for the efficient and sustainable use of tapes. These guidelines aim to help simplify the tape selection process for end users, facilitating less waste generation across the duration of applications.

Adhesive tapes contribute to making products thinner, lighter and more eco-friendly by utilising fewer materials, enhancing product efficiency and sustainability. Tapes are designed to withstand challenging environmental conditions, ensuring durability, reliability, and manufacturing optimisation. By enabling the reduction of carbon emissions, energy consumption and waste generation, adhesive tapes are driving a more sustainable manufacturing landscape.

While tape manufacturers can create new, eco-friendly tapes for various applications, the end user needs to understand the features and limitations of tapes to use them efficiently. The document covers various aspects: properties of tapes, best practices associated with the handling of tapes (application, machines and tools, storage), waste management and more, to support the end user in making the right choice, optimising use and reducing waste by avoiding the inefficient use of tapes. This is aligned with Afera’s overall goal to enable the eco-design of products, reduction of waste and sustainability of end-of-life solutions that promote the circular use of materials.

For more information, visit www.afera.com/adhesive-tapes-sustainability/flagship-sustainability-project or contact [email protected].