Recycled PET

What is recycled PET (rPET)?Recycled PET means that a certain percentage of "recyclate" is used. Recyclate is obtained from plastic containers that are collected, sorted and shredded in the recycling centres. It saves the plastic from being disposed of in landfill where it will take many years to decompose.

What are the benefits of recycled PET?
·         Recycled PET offers very similar technical properties to virgin PET
·         Products made of recycled PET can still be classified as food grade
·         Both PET and rPET are easily collected in domestic recycling and can be recycled several times with stable quality
·         rPET can be recycled again in the same stream as virgin PET
·         rPET uses less resources and less energy to produce than virgin PET

What is best percentage of recycled PET to choose?
Although 100% recycled PET would seem to be the ideal solution, there must balance between the sustainability of the product and the resources of recycled PET raw material globally. Also to consider is the legislation per country and the overall goal that the EU has set on plastic recyclability, which will have to reach 50% by 2025 and 55% by 2030. Based on all this, we suggest a recycled content of 30%.

What is the best colour to choose?
Discolouration of the PET is to consider which varies depending upon how much recycled content is added and can also vary from one batch to another. However, today’s consumers are used to seeing this discolouration on their retail products making it an indicator of your commitment to more sustainable packaging.

For optimal recyclability of a PET product, it is best to select a clear or light colour as coloured and opaque PET cannot be recycled.