Amut advances recycling capabilities for lightweight PET bottles
In 2024, Coca-Cola took a significant step toward its sustainability goals, announcing plans to reduce virgin PET use by 2025. This initiative aims to lower annual virgin PET consumption by the equivalent of nearly 800 million bottles by 2025. The change is part of Coca-Cola’s broader strategy to reduce environmental impact without compromising bottle durability or functionality. Coca-Cola’s new design lightens its PET bottles for sparkling brands in the U.S. and Canada from 21 grams to 18.5 grams, using a slimmer shape that maintains the bottles’ original height and diameter. However, the shift to lighter PET bottles introduces challenges in recycling facilities, where lightweight bottles are prone to damage during mechanical processing.
To address these issues, Amut has developed technology optimised for handling lightweight bottles in recycling. The company’s patented De-Labeller and wet shredder have demonstrated over 95% efficiency in removing labels from lightweight bottles, a key step in ensuring recyclability, says Amut. Additionally, the upgraded grinder design supports high-volume processing while reducing the generation of fine particles.
A recent case study illustrating Amut’s capabilities is the Envicco project in Thailand. Over the past three years, the company’s systems there have processed up to 45,000–50,000 lightweight bottles per ton, efficiently handling high volumes of both PVC and non-PVC shrink labels. This process includes a two-stage de-labelling system: the first stage uses a dry De-Labeller to strip most shrink labels, while the second, a wet De-Labeller, serves as a pre-wash to remove contaminants without damaging bottles or losing necks.
Amut’s fully automated recycling system is designed to meet rigorous bottle-to-bottle application standards, removing all types of labels, preserving bottle necks and bodies, and minimising operating costs.
