PETpla.net Insider 04 / 2010

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 04/10 www.petpla.net P E T C O R E C O L U M N Uses for recycled PET Since 2001 Petcore has commissioned an annual review of the European PET bottle collection figures from PCI. We duly report to the press each year how many tonnes were collected and the percentage of recycled PET used to produce fibre, sheet, and containers etc. In this column we give more details about these end uses. Fibre was the original outlet for recycled PET and it still consumes a very large tonnage. In 2001 144,000t of RPET (62% of all European supply) were used in fibre applications whereas in 2008 363,000t of RPET (45% of European supply) was used in fibre. Early uses of RPET were for fibres in the higher dTex range such as staple fibre for fillings for duvets, ski jackets etc using the insulation properties of PET fibre. Continuous development and improvement in RPET quality led to the production of polar fleece fabric and outdoor wear made from finer fibres spun from 100% RPET. Premium quality back packs, travel goods and computer cases are now made utilising recycled PET. RPET is also a major feedstock for non-wovens such as geotextiles, filters and wipes. RPET has often been the “unsung hero” in these fibre outlets but this year it has been given full recognition. At the Winter Olym- pics in Vancouver, Coca Cola supplied their representatives with outdoor wear made from 100% RPET and Nike has announced that it is supplying 9 World Cup football teams in South Africa with official strips made entirely from RPET. These teams’ replica strips will also be made from the same RPET-derived fabrics. Nike estimates it will use 275,000t of RPET in this application. 177,000t of RPET were used to produce clear sheet in 2008. The majority of this sheet was thermoformed to produce blisters, collation trays, clam shells and pun- nets to protect soft fruits and other contents. The sheet industry has long had the ability to extrude multi-layer sheet and this enabled them to sandwich an RPET layer between two outer layers of virgin PET particularly for food outlets. In 2001 just 16,000t of RPET were used to produce containers, almost all for non food. The passing of EU Regulation 282/2008 on recycled plastic materi- als and articles intended to come into contact with foods has meant that all EU member countries will allow RPET from approved plants to be used in food contact containers. Large and small brands used 163,000t of RPET in contain- ers in 2008. Strapping tape, the green bands that keep bricks and boxes firmly held on their transport pallets, has been a steady outlet for RPET. 88,000t were used in Europe in 2008. The final category in PCI’s review of end markets is in injection moulding/ other outlets. These applications account for less than 20,000t /a of RPET at present and are very varied. The RPET can be filled with e.g. glass fibre and injection moulded to form complex engineering components. It is also injection moulded to form the barrel of the Pilot B2P (bottle to pen). This clear cylinder is designed to look like a PET water bottle, complete with a label panel, a quality pen with the body made from 100% RPET. A new application from Dymon Pallets Pty in Australia is a transport pallet moulded from a 25kg preform (big enough to contain a 10 year old child). The company estimates that in 2005 over 1 million timber pallets were made in the USA alone and RPET pallets could absorb the world’s production of RPET! It can be seen that RPET has outlets for every quality. The clear, higher grade pellets and flakes are used by the food packaging industry and flakes that haven’t been through the final purification process for food contact, or coloured flakes find a market in “hidden” and coloured applications. Moreover, there is continual research into RPET applications and RPET recovery techniques. Novel processes drive new applications for RPET. Some of the methods involve dissolving post consumer PET, treating post consumer and post indus- trial waste at high pressures and hot and cold temperatures to produce novel end products with novel properties. Although still in the early stages of develop- ment these innovations have the potential to improve our collection and recov- ery of Europe’s most recycled packaging polymer. Petcore is keen to support these developments and will help facilitate their growth. Details of many of these end uses for RPET can be found in the Document Library by those who register with the Petcore website. www.petcore.org Global crisis puts Krones in the red Krones AG, the beverage filling and packaging technology company, says that the global economic crisis made the 2009 business year the most difficult in the company’s 59 years of existence. Demand in the packaging machinery market fell worldwide by more than 25%. With the exception of China, all regions were affected by a significant decline, particu- larly North and South America, and East- ern Europe and Russia. Order bookings at the Group fell 18% in 2009 compared with 2008, to €1,916 million. There was no discernible turnaround in clients’ order- ing until Q4, which showed an increase of 10% compared with the weak fourth quar- ter of 2008. Order backlog on 31 Decem- ber 2009 totalled €888 million (preceding year: €837 million). Consolidated sales in 2009 were 22% lower than the record year of 2008, totalling €1,865 million. The con- solidated result was a loss of €34.5 million. Krones does not anticipate any reversal of the sales trend until the first half of 2010. Despite the 2009 loss, the company increased free cash flow by five per cent, to €83 million. As at December 31, 2009, Krones Group had no debts with banks and possessed liquid funds (net cash) amounting to more than €135 million (2008: €107 million). Krones says that its long-term growth prospects continue to be good, as the mega-trends are posi- tive for its chosen sector. The company is cautiously optimistic for 2010, anticipating a turnaround in the overall trend for the first half of 2010, with an increase in sales during the 2010 business year of five to 15% and a return to positive results. www.krones.com DAK Americas responds to patent infringement DAK Americas LLC has announced that it is reviewing the Eastman Chemi- cal Company Patent Infringement com- plaint filed against it on March 1, 2010. The complaint alleges infringement of three Eastman patents that represent a portion of Eastman’s IntegRex PET Technology. Hector Camberos, President and CEO of DAK Americas, said that the company respects intellectual property rights and intends a vigorous defence against the claims. www.dakamericas.com