— By Plasteurope.com correspondent — 

European plastics recovery audit scheme RecyClass (Brussels; www.recyclass.eu) has updated its guidance for PET bottle manufacturers on how the labels and adhesives used in the production process might affect the containers’ subsequent recyclability after use.

The revision of the Recyclability Evaluation Protocol for Labels & Adhesives applied on PET bottles followed months of collaborative work within RecyClass’s PET Technical Committee. Experts from across the packaging value chain, including label and adhesive manufacturers, recyclers, and converters, were involved.

According to RecyClass, the protocol “describes the methodology the applicant must follow at a laboratory scale […] to determine if label and adhesive combinations are compatible with the post-consumer PET bottle recycling streams”.

The revised protocol introduces new success criteria, RecyClass said, “focusing on the effective separation of labels from PET bottles, ensuring that adhesive residues remain predominantly on the label, and verifying that PET flakes do not degrade after the oven test”.

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RecyClass chairman Paolo Glerean said, “We believe that understanding how each packaging component behaves during the recycling process is key to increasing the quality of recycled plastics and their consequent uptake in new products.

“The enhancements made to this protocol enable a more precise and consistent evaluation of how labels and adhesives perform throughout the recycling process.”

Earlier this year, RecyClass claimed its recycling certification scheme was the largest in Europe. It said the programme now covered nearly two-thirds (60%) of the region’s installed plastics-recycling capacity.