The recycling rate for thin-walled plastic packaging, such as cups for dairy products or sandwich toppings, is still low worldwide. PET bottles, on the other hand, play a pioneering role in recycling. Across Europe, half of all PET bottles placed on the market were recycled in 2020. The trend is also rising worldwide. Looking at all PET packaging, the rate is 35% (source: Statista). Due to its good recyclability and the established recycling systems in several countries, the idea of using PET for thin-walled packaging and making it recyclable is an obvious one. PET packaging must meet certain criteria so that it can be collected via the established PET collection systems and processed together with PET bottles into high-quality rPET resin. Reto Gmür, Product Manager Packaging at Netstal, says: “Clear packaging or the absence of color additives is preferred in order to achieve the purest possible quality of rPET. The recycled material obtained in this way can then be processed into new bottles or packaging.”
Sustainable thin-wall cup produced in a climate-friendly way
Netstal and its system partners are demonstrating such a recycling-optimized solution as part of an exhibition project at the NPE. The clear cup weighs around 15 g and has a filling volume of 450 ml. Netstal processes virgin PET from the Eastman Chemical Company. The cups are returned to the PET cycle via the NPE recycling program. The labels are also made of PET and are provided by Belgian IML specialist Verstraete. The test mold with two cavities and the IML robot, which inserts the label into the cavity and removes and stacks the finished cups, are supplied by Canadian partner StackTeck.
