POLYOLEFIN ELASTOMER IN MULTI-PACKAGE CARRIER.

Abstract

A flexible carrier for transporting a plurality of containers, such as soft drinks and other beverage containers, is formed from a polymer composition that provides the carrier with improved elastic recovery after the installation of the containers, along with tensile strength and tear resistance.The polymer composition includes from approximately 10% to approximately 95% by weight of a post-consumer recycled plastic that includes recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene, from zero to approximately 90% by weight of a branched low-density polyethylene polymer having a density of approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 grams / cm3, and from greater than zero to approximately 65% ​​by weight of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer that includes approximately 60% by weight to less than 100% by weight of ethylene and from greater than zero to approximately 40% by weight of a vinyl acetate comonomer.

Description

POLYOLEFIN ELASTOMER IN MULTI-PACKAGE CARRIER RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority over U.S. patent application serial number 17 / 143,884, filed on January 7, 2021; U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 741,149, filed on January 13, 2020; and U.S. provisional application serial number 63 / 052,868, filed on July 16, 2020. Each of the above applications is incorporated herein by reference. FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a multi-package carrier that includes a polyolefin elastomer to improve its elastic recovery. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional packaging carriers are often used to join multiple containers of similar size, such as cans, bottles, jars, and boxes, and / or similar containers that need to be bundled together. Flexible plastic rings are one such conventional packaging carrier. Flexible plastic rings having multiple openings that receive containers, generally oval, round, or rectangular in shape, each opening mating with a corresponding container, can be used to bundle groups of four, six, eight, twelve, or other suitable groups of containers into a convenient multipack. U.S. Patent Application 16 / 741,149, filed January 13, 2020, and published as US2002 / 0223608 describes a flexible carrier formed from a polymer blend that includes low-density polyethylene, a blend of recycled low-density polyethylene plastic, and linear low-density polyethylene, and one or more additives to improve manufacturing characteristics and / or post-consumer characteristics such as reduced degradation. Post-consumer recycled plastics (PCRPs) are derived from end products, such as plastic packaging, flexible packaging carriers, plastic bags, and other plastic products that have completed their initial life cycle as consumer products and can be recycled instead of being discarded. Although the increased use of PCRP in multipack carriers is environmentally friendly, it has resulted in a loss of elastic recovery when the carriers are stretched to allow insertion of the packages into the openings. Prolonged stretching of the carriers is detrimental to the manufacturing process because it slows down the package installation process and, in some cases, allows packages to spontaneously eject after installation. Maintaining a relatively short recovery time is vital for efficiently securing the packages to the carriers and restarting the installation process for subsequent carriers. Therefore, plastic, flexible container carriers are needed or desired that allow the inclusion of significant quantities of PCRP while maintaining standard, relatively short, and efficient elastic recovery times during container installation. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a flexible carrier for packaging containers that addresses the need for improved elastic recovery after the containers are placed in the openings. The flexible container carrier includes a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet to receive the containers. The flexible sheet defines an arrangement of the container-receiving openings that are configured to allow placement of the containers and enable the transport of a unified package of containers. The flexible film is formed using a polymer composition designed to promote and optimize the use of post-consumer recycled plastics (PCRPs) while providing enhanced elastic recovery of the film after insertion of containers into the openings. The flexible films and container-receiving openings are designed to allow the openings to open through a generally uniform, distributed stretch of the container carrier to receive the containers. The flexible film may include container-receiving openings that are typically oval, round, rectangular, or triangular in shape. In one embodiment, the invention relates to a flexible carrier for transporting a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet to receive parts of the containers. The flexible sheet is formed using a polymer composition comprising: approximately 10% to approximately 95% by weight of a PCRP that includes recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers; from 0 to approximately 90% by weight of a branched low-density polyethylene polymer having a density of approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 grams / cm3; and from more than 0 to approximately 65% ​​by weight of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer including from approximately 60% by weight to less than 100% by weight of ethylene and from more than zero to approximately 40% by weight of a vinyl acetate comonomer. In another embodiment, the invention relates to a flexible carrier for holding a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet to receive parts of the containers. The flexible sheet is formed using a polymer composition comprising: from approximately 10% to approximately 95% by weight of a PCRP that includes recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene; from approximately 5% to approximately 90% by weight of an ethylene-carbon monoxide copolymer including a branched low-density polyethylene polymer formed by a high-pressure polymerization process and a carbon monoxide comonomer; and from more than zero to approximately 65% ​​by weight of an elastomeric ethylene copolymer including from approximately 60% by weight to less than 100% by weight of ethylene and from more than zero to approximately 40% by weight of a vinyl acetate comonomer. In another embodiment, the invention relates to a flexible carrier for holding a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet to receive parts of the containers. The flexible sheet is formed using a polymer composition comprising: approximately 40% to approximately 90% by weight of a PCRP that includes recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene; of approximately 10% to approximately 60% of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer or a mixture thereof with a branched low-density polyethylene polymer, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer or mixture thereof has a combined vinyl acetate content of approximately 2% to approximately 10% by weight. The polymer composition used to make the flexible sheet may also include additives such as slip agents and other processing aids to improve extrusion and / or die-cutting. Additives may include compounds to enhance or aid degradation, including photodegradation and / or biodegradation; for example, polyolefins containing up to approximately 20% by weight of a carbon monoxide comonomer with or without an additional photodegradant or bioactive degradant. Taking the above into account, it is a feature and advantage of the invention to provide a flexible container carrier that accommodates a large amount of PCRP and still provides excellent elastic recovery. It is also a feature and advantage of the invention to provide a flexible container carrier that accommodates a large quantity of PCRP without slowing down the process of securing the containers in the flexible carrier. It is also a feature and advantage of the invention to provide a flexible container carrier that accommodates a large quantity of PCRP while preventing distortion and ejection of the containers due to slow elastic recovery. The above and other features and advantages of the invention will become more evident from the following detailed description of the invention, read together with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a container carrier according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 shows a flexible carrier 10 for combining multiple containers into a single, unified package. Although Figure 1 illustrates a carrier having six container-receiving openings 25, the illustration is illustrative, and the invention is not limited to the flexible carriers shown for six containers. For example, the flexible carrier 10 can be configured and used alternatively to combine four, eight, ten, twelve, or any other desired number of containers. The containers can be cans or bottles; however, any other commonly used, standardized container can be used with the flexible carrier 10, according to the present invention. The containers are preferably, though not necessarily, of the same size within a single flexible carrier. Each flexible carrier 10 may include a single layer of flexible film 20 having a width and length that define a plurality of container-receiving openings 25, each for receiving one container. The plurality of container-receiving openings may be arranged in two longitudinal rows or multiple longitudinal rows to form a series of container-receiving openings, for example, two rows by three rows to form a multipack for six containers, as shown in Figure 1. The container-receiving openings 25 are preferably slightly elongated in a longitudinal direction of the flexible carrier 10. The container-receiving openings 25 and the intermediate (smaller) openings are suitably formed in a geometry that results in uniform application of the carrier to the containers. A representative package resulting from a flexible carrier includes a plurality of unitized packages. Flexible carriers are generally applied to packages by stretching portions of the flexible film surrounding the package, creating openings around the packages, and allowing the stretched carrier to recover and provide a firm coupling with the packages. Efficient elastic recovery of the stretched carrier is important to allow the resulting package assembly to be moved from the processing machine and stored, enabling the subsequent batch of packages to be installed on a flexible carrier. The flexible carriers 10, as shown in Figure 1, are manufactured in a generally continuous series of carriers in which the carriers are die-cut or otherwise formed longitudinally adjacent to one another. In this way, a generally continuous series of carriers is formed that can be wound onto reels or folded into boxes to be unwound or unfolded and applied to the containers. Subsequently, the carriers are cut into individual carriers and packages. The containers to be inserted into the receiving openings 25 of the containers can have varying shapes and diameters. Referring to Figure 1, for example, each flexible carrier 10 is installed on the containers by stretching the receiving portions of the carrier 30 in opposite, transverse directions.The subsequent recovery of the receiving parts of the carrier 30 provides a snug fit around the rib, flange, or outer surface of the containers whose strength is affected, in part, by the modulus and elastic recovery of the flexible sheet 20 used to construct the flexible carrier. 10. The dimensions of the flexible carrier 10 and its components vary depending on the end use. Specific end uses include, but are not limited to, soft drinks and beverage cans and bottles of various sizes and shapes. The flexible sheet 20 used to form the flexible carrier 10 is preferably a plastic film, which can be formed by an extrusion process and then cut to form the flexible carrier. The flexible sheet 20 has a thickness that provides sufficient structural integrity to carry a desired number of packages. For example, each flexible carrier 10 can be designed to carry multiple packages of a desired product that have a specific weight, volume, shape, and size. For most applications, the flexible film 20 can have a thickness of approximately 3 to 50 mils, suitablely approximately 5 to 30 mils, and commonly approximately 10 to 20 mils. The flexible sheet 20 used to form the flexible carrier 10 is formed using a polymer composition that provides the carrier 10 with desirable recovery after stretching and adequate elongation and tensile strength. Elongation at break and tensile strength are measured using the tensile-strain test described in ASTM D882-91, the procedure for which is incorporated by reference. Recovery after stretching can be measured using various standard and specialized procedures. The polymer composition used to form the flexible carrier may include a PCRP comprising recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and / or recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers. The polymer composition may include approximately 10% to approximately 95% by weight of PCRP, appropriately approximately 25% to approximately 90% by weight of PCRP, or approximately 40% to approximately 90% by weight of PCRP, or approximately 40% to approximately 70% by weight of PCRP. The polymer composition used to form the flexible carrier may also include a branched, non-recycled low-density polyethylene polymer. The polymer composition may include from 0 to approximately 90% by weight of branched low-density polyethylene polymer, or approximately 5% to approximately 90% by weight of branched low-density polyethylene polymer, suitably approximately 10% to approximately 75% by weight of branched low-density polyethylene polymer, or approximately 10% to approximately 60% by weight, or approximately 30% to approximately 60% by weight. The branched low-density polyethylene polymer may have a density of approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 g / cm³, or approximately 0.915 to approximately 0.940 g / cm³, or approximately 0.920 to approximately 0.935 g / cm³. The polymer composition used to form the flexible carrier may also include an ethylene elastomeric copolymer. The ethylene elastomeric copolymer improves the elastic recovery of the flexible carrier 10 after it is stretched and the containers are installed in the openings 25, allowing for a faster and tighter fit between the flexible carrier 10 and its containers. The polymer composition may include more than 0 to approximately 65% ​​by weight of the ethylene elastomeric copolymer, or approximately 2% to approximately 50% by weight of the ethylene elastomeric copolymer, or approximately 2% to approximately 25% by weight, or approximately 2% to approximately 20% by weight, or approximately 3% to approximately 15% by weight, or approximately 3% to approximately 10% by weight. The ethylene elastomeric copolymer may be ethylene vinyl acetate and may include approximately 60 wt% to less than 100 wt% ethylene and more than zero to approximately 40 wt% of a vinyl acetate comonomer. The ethylene elastomeric copolymer may include approximately 60 wt% to approximately 98 wt% ethylene, or approximately 65 wt% to approximately 97 wt%, or approximately 70 wt% to approximately 96 wt%, or approximately 75 wt% to approximately 95 wt%, or approximately 80 wt% to approximately 95 wt%. In these embodiments, the ethylene elastomeric copolymer may include approximately 2 wt% to approximately 40 wt% vinyl acetate, or approximately 3 wt% to approximately 35 wt%, or approximately 4 wt% to approximately 30 wt%, or approximately 5 wt% to approximately 25 wt%, or approximately 5 wt% to approximately 20 wt%.Suitable ethyl vinyl acetate copolymers include, among others, those available from Dow Chemical Co., under the name ELVAX®. The branched low-density polyethylene recycled in the PCRP can be a high-pressure polyethylene homopolymer or an ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer and is properly a homopolymer. Its density can range from approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 g / cm³, or properly from approximately 0.920 to approximately 0.935 g / cm³. When the branched low-density polyethylene is a copolymer, its density will vary depending on the amount and type of ethylene-alpha-olefin comonomer. The comonomer can be a C3a C12 alpha-olefin, or properly a C4a C8 alpha-olefin, and can constitute from 0 to 20% by weight, or properly from 0 to 10% by weight of the recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymer. The linear low-density polyethylene recycled in the PCRP can be a low-density ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer with a density of approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 g / cm³, or preferably approximately 0.920 to approximately 0.935 g / cm³. Its density will vary depending on the amount and type of ethylene-alpha-olefin comonomer. The comonomer can be a C3a C12 alpha-olefin, or preferably a C4a C8 alpha-olefin, and can constitute approximately 2% to 20% by weight, or preferably approximately 3% to 10% by weight, of the branched low-density polymer. The PCRP may include any amount (zero to 100% by weight) of recycled branched low-density polyethylene and any amount (zero to 100% by weight) of recycled linear low-density polyethylene, and may suitably include approximately 10% to approximately 90% by weight of each, or approximately 25% to approximately 75% by weight of each, or approximately 40% to approximately 60% by weight of each. Non-recycled branched low-density polyethylene (LDPE) can be a high-pressure polyethylene homopolymer, an ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer, or a copolymer of either of these with carbon monoxide. Branched LDPE is properly a polyethylene homopolymer or an ethylene-carbon monoxide copolymer. When branched LDPE is an ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer, its density will vary depending on the amount and type of ethylene-alpha-olefin comonomer. The comonomer can be a C3a Ci2 alpha-olefin, or properly a C4a C8 alpha-olefin, and can constitute 0 to 20% by weight, or properly 0 to 10% by weight, of the branched LDPE polymer.When carbon monoxide is included as the sole comonomer or as an additional comonomer in branched low-density polyethylene, it makes the carrier prone to degradation in the presence of ultraviolet light. When carbon monoxide is included, it can be present at approximately 0.1 to 20% by weight of the branched low-density polymer, ideally at approximately 1 to 10% by weight. To ensure smooth processing, stretching, and recovery, both the PCRP and the branched low-density polyethylene that has not been recycled should have a melt index of approximately 0.2 to 3.0 grams / 10 min, or appropriately approximately 0.3 to 1.5 grams / 10 min, or approximately 0.4 to 0.7 grams / 10 min, measured at 190 °C using the ASTM D1238 test method. If either component does not achieve a melt index within the desired range, then the combination of PCRP and branched low-density polyethylene together, and especially the overall polymer composition, should be adjusted to achieve a melt index within the desired range. The ethylene elastomeric copolymer may have a density of approximately 0.900 to approximately 0.940 grams / cm3, properly approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.930 grams / cm3, or approximately 0.915 to approximately 0.925 grams / cm3. The ethylene elastomeric copolymer may have a melt index of approximately 0.2 to approximately 20 grams / 10 min, properly approximately 0.2 to 3.0 grams / 10 min, or approximately 0.3 to 1.5 grams / 10 min, or approximately 0.4 to 0.7 grams / 10 min, measured at 190 °C using ASTM D 1238 test method. The amounts of ethylene elastomeric copolymer and branched low-density polyethylene that have not been recycled can vary to achieve a vinyl acetate content of approximately 2% to approximately 12% by weight, or approximately 3% to approximately 10% by weight, or approximately 4% to approximately 8% by weight, based on the combination of these two ingredients. For example, the higher the vinyl acetate content of the ethylene elastomeric copolymer, the less copolymer is required to achieve this level of vinyl acetate in the combination. In one embodiment, the branched low-density polyethylene can be omitted in favor of using an ethylene elastomeric copolymer that, on its own, has a vinyl acetate content of approximately 2% to approximately 12% by weight, or approximately 3% to approximately 10% by weight, or approximately 4% to approximately 8% by weight.Commercially available blends of ethylene elastomeric copolymer with branched low-density polyethylene may also be used, provided the blend has a total vinyl acetate content within the desired range. For example, the polymer composition may include approximately 40% to approximately 90% by weight of a PCRP comprising recycled branched low-density polyethylene and recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers, and approximately 10% to approximately 60% of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer or blend thereof with a branched low-density polyethylene polymer, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer or blend thereof has a combined vinyl acetate content of approximately 2% to approximately 12% by weight, or approximately 3% to approximately 10% by weight, or approximately 4% to approximately 8% by weight. In an alternative embodiment, the ethylene elastomeric copolymer can be an ethylene-vinyl acetate-carbon monoxide terpolymer. The terpolymer can include approximately 60% to approximately 98% by weight of ethylene, or approximately 60% to approximately 90% by weight, or approximately 60% to approximately 80% by weight. The terpolymer can include approximately 1% to approximately 20% by weight of vinyl acetate, or approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight, or approximately 10% to approximately 20% by weight. The terpolymer can include approximately 1% to approximately 20% by weight of carbon monoxide, or approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight, or approximately 10% to approximately 20% by weight. The presence of carbon monoxide further aids the biodegradability (especially photodegradability) of the flexible carrier in the presence of sunlight. The polymer composition may include additional quantities of known and / or identifiable additives. For example, it can be seen that commercially available PCRP blends that are based primarily on recycled branched low-density polyethylene and recycled linear low-density polyethylene may also include smaller quantities (generally less than 10% by weight, appropriately less than 5% by weight) of other plastic materials. Table 1 below presents a component analysis of three batches of a suitable PCRP blend based on recycled branched low-density polyethylene and recycled linear low-density polyethylene. While hexane and butane are common comonomers contained in linear low-density polyethylene, propylene and styrene are typically present in separate polymers. Table 1: Analysis of components of a PCRP Sample # % by weight PP % by weight % by weight % by weight % by weight % by weight (as Butane Hexane (includes approximate Styrene approximate of 1 1.8 2.2 4.4 50 0.05 45 2 2.3 2.0 4.4 45 0.15 45 3 1.7 2.6 3.8 53 0.29 38 The polymer composition may also contain other optional additives at approximately 0.1 to approximately 10% by weight of the composition, which will be used as processing aids to improve or optimize the elastic recovery of the carrier and / or prodegradants to improve the biodegradability of the carrier. Suitable prodegradants include photodegradants and bioreactive degradants, which may be present at 0.1–10% by weight, or 0.1–5% by weight of the composition when used. Examples include, but are not limited to, ColorTech® 10365-16 available from Colortech, Inc. in Morristown, Tennessee, and Symphony® D2w available from Symphony Environmental Technologies in the United Kingdom.In one embodiment, a single-site catalyzed ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer plastomer can be included, suitably from about 1 to about 10 wt% of the polymer composition, to improve the recovery characteristics and modulus of the flexible carrier. The plastomer can have a density of about 0.850–0.905 g / cm³. Examples of suitable single-site catalyzed ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer plastomers are available from Exxon-Mobil Chemical Co. under the trade name EXACT, and from Dow Chemical Co. under the trade names AFFINITY and ENGAGE. Other additives, which may constitute 0.1 to 10% of the polymer composition, include sliding agents and other processing aids to improve extrusion and / or die-cutting. Additional additives may include an antiblocking agent, an antioxidant, and a sliding agent to adjust the composition to suit the stretch and recovery characteristics required in the finished carrier. Examples The following materials were used in these examples: Mixture of PCRP - described in Table 1. Branched LDPE - Dow 4581 (proprietary carbon monoxide and ethylene copolymer). Ethyl vinyl acetate: Lyonden-Basen LB362 (commercial mixture of branched LDPE and EVA containing 6.6% EVA). Processing aid - KYNAR FLEX 5300. Other additives: Glidants, antioxidants, antiblocking. A polymer composition containing 55 wt% PORP, 44 wt% branched low-density polyethylene Dow 4581, 0.25 wt% of a processing aid, and 0.75 wt% of other additives was used to form a flexible packaging carrier. A similar flexible packaging carrier was formed using a conventional polymer composition without PCRP and including 99 wt% Dow 4581 with the processing aid and other additives. To compare the springback of the two materials, the springback and modulus of both polymer compositions were evaluated according to ASTM D882-9I. The springback time for the polymer composition containing PCRP was found to be three to four times longer than the springback time for the conventional polymer composition. Such a significant difference will reduce the time required to install packaging onto the carrier using PCRP. Subsequently, the previous polymer composition containing PCRP was modified by replacing the conventional branched LDPE with Lyonden Basen LB362, which contains 6.6 wt% vinyl acetate as previously described. The resulting modified polymer composition was then processed into a container carrier. The modified polymer composition was evaluated for elastic recovery and modulus in accordance with ASTM D882-9 I. It was found that the modified polymer composition had an elastic recovery time only 10–15% greater than the elastic recovery of the conventional polymer composition without PCRP, making it suitable for use in containers. The results of these evaluations are shown in Table 2 below. Table 2: Elastic Modulus and Recovery Polymer compositions Elastic modulus Elastic recovery LDPE + Additives 18,000 ±2,000 psi < 2 seconds PRCP + LDPE + Additives 18,000 ± 2,000 psi 8 seconds PCRP + LDPE / EVA mixture + Additives 14,500 psi 2 seconds Although in the preceding descriptive memorandum this invention has been described in relation to certain preferred embodiments thereof, and many details have been set forth for illustrative purposes, it will be evident to those skilled in the art that the flexible carrier 10 is susceptible of further embodiments and that some of the details herein described may vary considerably without departing from the basic principles of the invention.

Claims

1. A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet for receiving parts of the containers, the flexible sheet comprising a polymeric composition, including: approximately 10% to approximately 95% by weight of a PCRP including recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers; zero to approximately 90% by weight of a branched low-density polyethylene polymer that has not been recycled, having a density of approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 grams / cm3; and more than 0 to approximately 65% ​​by weight of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer including approximately 60% by weight to less than 100% by weight of ethylene and more than zero to approximately 40% by weight of a vinyl acetate comonomer.

2. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and the recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers each have a density of approximately 0.910 to approximately 0.950 grams / cm3.

3. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the branched low-density polyethylene is present in approximately 5% to approximately 90% by weight of the polymer composition and comprises an ethylene homopolymer.

4. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the branched low-density polyethylene is present in approximately 5% to approximately 90% by weight of the polymer composition and comprises an ethylene-alpha-olefin copolymer.

5. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer includes approximately 70% to approximately 96% by weight of ethylene and approximately 4% to approximately 30% by weight of the vinyl acetate comonomer.

6. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer includes approximately 80% to approximately 95% by weight of ethylene and approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight of the vinyl acetate comonomer.

7. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer includes an ethylene-vinyl acetate-carbon monoxide terpolymer.

8. The flexible carrier of claim 7, wherein the ethylene vinyl acetate-carbon monoxide terpolymer includes approximately 60% to approximately 90% by weight of ethylene, approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight of vinyl acetate, and approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight of carbon monoxide.

9. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the PCRP is present in approximately 40% to approximately 90% by weight of the polymer composition.

10. The flexible carrier of claim 9, wherein the branched low-density polyethylene polymer is present in approximately 10% to approximately 60% by weight of the polymer composition.

11. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer is present in approximately 2% to approximately 20% by weight of the polymer composition.

12. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer is present in approximately 3% to approximately 10% by weight of the polymer composition.

13. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the polymer composition further comprises approximately 0.1 to approximately 10% by weight of a photodegradant.

14. The flexible carrier of claim 1, wherein the polymer composition further comprises approximately 0.1 to approximately 10% by weight of a bioreactive degradant.

15. A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet for receiving parts of the containers, the flexible sheet comprising a polymeric composition, including: approximately 10% to approximately 95% by weight of a PCRP comprising recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers; approximately 5% to approximately 90% by weight of an ethylene-carbon monoxide copolymer comprising a branched low-density polyethylene polymer formed by a high-pressure polymerization process and a carbon monoxide comonomer; and more than 0 to approximately 65% ​​by weight of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer comprising more than 60% by weight to less than 100% by weight of ethylene and more than zero to approximately 40% by weight of a vinyl acetate comonomer.

16. The flexible carrier of claim 15, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer includes approximately 70% to approximately 96% by weight of ethylene and approximately 4% to approximately 30% by weight of the vinyl acetate comonomer.

17. The flexible carrier of claim 15, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer includes an ethylene-vinyl acetate-carbon monoxide terpolymer.

18. The flexible carrier of claim 17, wherein the ethylene-vinyl acetate-carbon monoxide terpolymer includes approximately 60% to approximately 90% by weight of ethylene, approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight of vinyl acetate, and approximately 5% to approximately 20% by weight of carbon monoxide.

19. The flexible carrier of claim 15, wherein the PCRP is present in approximately 40% to approximately 90% by weight of the polymer composition.

20. The flexible carrier of claim 19, wherein the ethylene carbon monoxide copolymer is present in approximately 10% to approximately 60% by weight of the polymer composition.

21. The flexible carrier of claim 15, wherein the polymer composition further comprises approximately 0.1 to approximately 10% by weight of a photodegradant.

22. The flexible carrier of claim 15, wherein the polymer composition further comprises approximately 0.1 to approximately 10% by weight of a bioreactive degradant.

23. The flexible carrier of claim 13, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer is present in approximately 3% to approximately 15% by weight of the polymer composition.

24. A flexible carrier for carrying a plurality of containers, comprising a flexible sheet and a plurality of primary openings formed in the sheet for receiving parts of the containers, the flexible sheet comprising a polymeric composition, including: approximately 40% to approximately 90% by weight of a PCRP comprising recycled branched low-density polyethylene polymers and recycled linear low-density polyethylene polymers; approximately 10% to approximately 60% of an ethylene elastomeric copolymer or mixture thereof with a branched low-density polyethylene polymer, wherein the ethylene elastomeric copolymer or mixture thereof has a combined vinyl acetate content of approximately 2% to approximately 12% by weight.

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