 PET can be 100% recycled
PET can be recycled completely. Environmental damage is minimal as a result. As early as the design phase, there is consultation with the customer on recycling aspects. During production, waste is carefully collected and processed. And following use by the consumer, we use the material once again for the production of PET. It is also suitable for reuse in other industrial applications.
Recycling during the design phase
PET, a polyester synthetic, can be completely recycled. As early as the design phase of the product, PET Power consults with the customer on objectives in the area of reuse. Should recycled materials be incorporated into the end product? What happens to the product after use? This is the so-called Life Cycle Analysis, on the basis of which we choose our materials.
Recycling during production
Utilising materials responsibly is part of the production process in our plants from the outset. The process inevitably generates waste: bottles are rejected when the machines are started up, in the case of colour changes and after checks (are they 100% in accordance with specifications?). The 'rejects' are ground up. We then upgrade this scrap once more to PET granulate - the raw material used to produce PET. PET Power goes the extra mile and sets itself apart in this way.
Recycling after use
The end product can return to the production process after use by the consumer. Used material that is reworked into PET we call PCR: Post Consumer Recycled PET. Another term is R-PET. Reuse can take place in differing ways: 1) by making bottles and jars once more or 2) in other applications.
1. Reuse as PET
Part of the returned PET material goes back into the production of bottles and jars. Initially it is carefully separated from other waste. Then the content residues (food, chemical substances) are removed and a process called extrusion takes place, in which the material is returned to granulate form. The clarity of the 'new' PET does vary slightly from delivery to delivery, because the material supplied for recycling does inevitably vary slightly in composition. Customers may choose from bottles made from 100% new material, 100% recycled material or a combination, such as 80% new and 20% R-PET.
2. Other reuse
Following a milling process, returned PET material can be used extremely well in other industrial sectors. It is polyester after all. Useful reuse is thus possible in the manufacture of fleecy garments and also of carpet underlays and insulation material.
 Contact
If you would like to know more about the composition and manufacture of PET and/or its recycling, please contact Raoul Gabriëls in the Business Development & Technology Department. Simply send him an e‑mail at rg[at]petpower.eu. |
