PET RECYCLING
Petcore working group takes action on PET thermoforms / Trials underway to find effective solutions / Tray design a key issue
A PET thermoform currently contains more than 50 % rPET (Photo: Petcore Europe) |
As demand for PET thermoformed packaging continues to rise, the need for effective recycling solutions is becoming increasingly important. The PET Thermoforms Working Group, part of Brussels-based industry organisation Petcore Europe (Belgium; https://petcore-europe.org), has issued an interim report on the various actions it is taking to improve recycling rates.
Speaking at the annual Petcore Europe Conference in February 2016, Wim Hoenderdaal, co-chairman of the PET Thermoforms Working Group, said: “Recycling of PET thermoforms is in the final stage for closing the loop of PET recycling. We have to find solutions for increasing the recycling rates, especially in the context of the new Circular Economy Package and its ambitious plastics recycling targets proposals.”
The aim of the Working Group, which comprises more than 30 companies and organisations from industry and waste management, is to maintain and increase the share of PET thermoforms in the European market by improving their image as the best-in-class packaging material through providing sustainable and reliable end-of-life solutions.
Currently, annual demand for PET thermoforms is estimated at 800,000 t, out of which more than 400,000 t comes from post-consumer recycled PET (r-PET). A PET thermoform contains, on average, over 50% of r-PET.
With no uniform collection of trays in Europe at present, important steps are needed to improve sorting, for example of PET multilayer from monolayer trays and PET trays from PET bottles. There are trials underway in France and Belgium, by Valorplast (Puteaux / France; www.valorplast.com) and Plarebel (Brussels / Belgium; www.plarebel.be) respectively, to investigate what quality and percentage of thermoforms can be included in PET bales without affecting the quality of the r-PET.
Sorting technology can already remove multilayer trays from the mixed tray and bottle stream, yielding a stream of PET mono-material (including bottles and thermoforms). Further tests need to demonstrate if severe recycling conditions – high friction and high temperatures combined with a high percentage of trays – can lead to a loss of yield.
A limited stream of bottles containing a small number of PET trays is currently supplied to some recyclers in France. However, more time is needed to aggregate the data and reach a conclusion on the quantity and quality of PET trays that can be included in the bales. Another option, said the Working Group, is to develop a route for recycling all PET thermoforms – mono- and multi-materials as well as coloured. This might make it possible to combine these thermoforms with bottles that are difficult to recycle, for instance heavily coloured, opaque and multilayer bottles.
Speaking at the annual Petcore Europe Conference in February 2016, Wim Hoenderdaal, co-chairman of the PET Thermoforms Working Group, said: “Recycling of PET thermoforms is in the final stage for closing the loop of PET recycling. We have to find solutions for increasing the recycling rates, especially in the context of the new Circular Economy Package and its ambitious plastics recycling targets proposals.”
The aim of the Working Group, which comprises more than 30 companies and organisations from industry and waste management, is to maintain and increase the share of PET thermoforms in the European market by improving their image as the best-in-class packaging material through providing sustainable and reliable end-of-life solutions.
Currently, annual demand for PET thermoforms is estimated at 800,000 t, out of which more than 400,000 t comes from post-consumer recycled PET (r-PET). A PET thermoform contains, on average, over 50% of r-PET.
With no uniform collection of trays in Europe at present, important steps are needed to improve sorting, for example of PET multilayer from monolayer trays and PET trays from PET bottles. There are trials underway in France and Belgium, by Valorplast (Puteaux / France; www.valorplast.com) and Plarebel (Brussels / Belgium; www.plarebel.be) respectively, to investigate what quality and percentage of thermoforms can be included in PET bales without affecting the quality of the r-PET.
Sorting technology can already remove multilayer trays from the mixed tray and bottle stream, yielding a stream of PET mono-material (including bottles and thermoforms). Further tests need to demonstrate if severe recycling conditions – high friction and high temperatures combined with a high percentage of trays – can lead to a loss of yield.
A limited stream of bottles containing a small number of PET trays is currently supplied to some recyclers in France. However, more time is needed to aggregate the data and reach a conclusion on the quantity and quality of PET trays that can be included in the bales. Another option, said the Working Group, is to develop a route for recycling all PET thermoforms – mono- and multi-materials as well as coloured. This might make it possible to combine these thermoforms with bottles that are difficult to recycle, for instance heavily coloured, opaque and multilayer bottles.
06.05.2016 Plasteurope.com [234006-0]
Published on 06.05.2016