A small-scale recycling pilot line has been opened by packaging business Sidel that is designed to give it greater knowledge of using recycled PET.
Situated in Octeville, France, it has also been developed to help Sidel educate its PET packaging customers on using more recycled content in their packaging.
In particular, Sidel wants to better understand the impact of PET recycled content on food-grade packaging.
It will source raw material from industrial partners such as sorting facilities, recyclers and brand owners. Sidel will then recreate and study all aspects of the process from bales to flakes including pellets ready to be injected into preform, injection and blow moulding.
Sidel global packaging expert Naima Boutroy said: “There is a big move towards recycled PET, but demand is outstripping supply. The market still has a lot to learn and we can provide valuable insights.
“There is a variability in recycled PET resin grades, and standardisation is still in development. We need to address this to create the best possible finished bottles.
“Our line will test the recyclability of post-consumer PET bottles from different feed stocks, including additives and caps as well as labels, inks and glue.
“We will be working with traditional Sidel customers such as brand owners, converters and co-packers, as well as other suppliers like raw material producers, recyclers and regulatory organisations, to enable the scaling up of rPET capacity. We can also check any innovations comply with bottle-to-bottle recycling.”
