Closed loop PET recycling in Denmark

Resilux recently signed a long-term contract with Dansk Retursystem to recycle PET and so deliver full circularity from used food grade bottles to new bottles in the Danish market. In addition, rigorous traceability and transparency gives fillers in Denmark and other countries confidence about the origin of the recycled PET that Resilux can return to them. The Danish deposit and return system which is operated by Dansk Retursystem is a leading example of how full, closed loop circularity in PET can be achieved.

The non-profit company Dansk Retursystem ensures that disposable beverage packaging made of plastic, aluminium and glass is seen as a valuable resource and that it is recycled in Denmark. For PET bottles, reverse vending machines are used to give consumers an additional incentive to bring their bottles back. Used ones are then taken to centralised sorting units where they are baled-up and made available to participating recyclers such as Resilux to purchase – on the understanding that they are obliged to put them back into new bottles (through the supply of preforms). Resilux will try to put them back into the Danish market which will make a perfect closed loop.

As a long-term partner to the Danish deposit and return system, Resilux is helping to complete the recycling loop within the Danish market by ensuring that food-grade PET is not only re-used in general but re-used specifically for new preforms – and, ultimately, new bottles. This is a major advance in demonstrating the sustainable nature of PET and the part it can play in environmental protection. According to Peter Tackx, Resilux’s Sales Director, “This is a big step to prove that this circularity system can work, and a lot of partners are willing to invest in that.”

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