Wrap Element
advances in technology enable
us to turn high percentages of
post-consumer plastic into
top quality plastic bottles that
satisfy the very strict hygiene
requirements for RefPET. PET materials and, contrary
to popular belief, PET bottles
made from up to 50% PCR
are as clear as a bottle made
from virgin material and
equally strong.
To date, there are very few
international studies that
compare recyclable PET
(R-PET) and refillable PET
(RefPET) bottles, yet Coca-
Cola, PepsiCo, Schweppes
and a number of national
brands have gone down the
refi llable route in Germany
where consumers have had
a choice for some time now
between 30% to 50% PCR
one-way bottles and RefPET. We d e m o n s t r a t e d t h i s
recently when we teamed
with leading Northern
European beverage
producer, Royal Unibrew, to
develop a best in class, high
performance, lightweight
500 ml bottle with 50%
food-grade post-consumer
recycled PET for a major
carbonated soft drinks brand.
We have even developed a
100% PCR solution for still
water brands.
The RefPET refi llable bottles
for carbonated beverages
and water products can be
made with as much as 30%
recycled content and can
be reused up to 20 times.
Bottles removed from the
pool (approximately 2%
every cycle) are collected,
converted to PCR fl akes and
pellets for the production
of new bottles, making it a
true zero waste plastic pack
format.
PCR has a signifi cantly lower
carbon footprint than virgin
As numerous brands step up
to the vision of eliminating
all their packaging from
either going to landfill or
waste, either solution relies
on improved recycling
processes. This means the
consumer too plays a vital
role in achieving this.
Increasing localised
approaches are having a
positive knock-on effect too.
As Abishek Balasubramanian
at GA Circular, a Singapore-
based sustainability
consultancy, told the FT
in a recent interview, we
need to be focusing on local
ecosystems, with collection
and recycling within the
same country. This model
is typically more resilient
than those that depend on
international trade. In the
case of Royal Unibrew, the
Cleanpet flakes we use to
produce their latest top-
performing bottle are
sourced from recycled PET
bottles collected locally.
Taking a holistic approach to
the issue means that Royal
Unibrew ’s plant in Faxe
Denmark has improved
processability, increased
the production line output,
and reduced the amount of
energy and compressed air
used in the manufacturing
process. Light-weighting
has further reduced C02
emissions with 135 tonnes
CO2eq, a 7.44% reduction
by saving a signifi cant 67.2
tonnes of material per
annum, further enhancing
the product’s carbon
footprint.
Obviously, there is no one
clear-cut solution, it is about
adapting tailored solutions
to regional requirements as
we look to reduce carbon
footprints and resolve to
re-use as well as reduce the
waste we are producing.
We need only look to other
countries who have made a
real success of their plastic
waste collection, to see that
by embracing an impactful
waste management scheme
they are way ahead of the
UK in terms of doing their
part to transform waste into
a valuable, reusable resource.
Norway has a 95% recycling
rate that includes everything
that’s collected and doesn’t
end up polluting the land
or sea — even if ultimately
the bottles end up being
incinerated rather than
recycled. The actual recycling
rate of PET bottles in Norway
is estimated at about 80 to
90%.
Germany has set targets to
recover and recycle up to
90% of plastic via a new
legislation that came into play
on the 1st of January 2019.
These countries have refi ned
their recycling processes
to deliver top quality PCR
fl akes.
Ultimately sustainability is
everyone’s responsibility
and shipping plastic waste
offshore is not going to solve
anything. We should not be
blind to plastic’s potential to
address the situation; it is not
plastic that is the problem so
much as how we manage it.
S o u r c e : h t t p s : / / w w w.
thedrinksbusiness.
com/2019/07/db-reader-the-
plastic-waste-paradox/
Drink Asia
42
March-April 2020