PETpla.net Insider 05 / 2010

NEWS 8 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 05/10 www.petpla.net P E T C O R E C O L U M N Biodegradation – what’s in a word? Biodegradation as a word is very confusing to non experts. The diction- ary defines it as the process of being broken down by bacteria. Members of the public will tell you that plastics don’t biodegrade and they will tell you plastics stay in the environment for years, as though this were a bad thing. It is acknowledged that plastics need to be fit for purpose and have a required service lifetime. In the view of many however, if plastics biodegrade, break down or “disappear” they would be more environmentally friendly materials. Do they expect them to degrade as soon as they hit the ground? What is the full environmental cost of “true” biodegradable plastics? These are the plastics that are based on food crops such as corn. In this process industrialists extract the organic carbon from plants grown using modern agricultural techniques. It is this long and convoluted process that many claim to be environmentally friendly. The biopolymer industry uses phe- nomenal amounts of energy. The energy drain starts with the manufacture of tractors, seed drills, fertilizer spreaders, harvesting and drying equipment. It uses energy from fossil fuels and electricity. In addition, the water footprint for crops is high. There are many factors to be considered when calculating the total environmental cost of supplying this “renewable resource”. Is renewable the right description for this type of product? Surely this is a once-through system? Crops are grown as a feedstock, harvested as a chemical resource, put through an industrial process and at the end of their life are degraded to greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) and water. There is no re-use, no second life for these products, certainly no recovery of the energy used to make them. Who amongst us feels this type of process is the way forward? Can we afford to waste this or, for that matter, any other resource? The term renewable resource should be replaced by the term repeatable resource as crops can be re-sown. Perhaps an even more confusing use of the word biodegradation is the peculiar case of forced biological action. Here specific chemicals (additives) are mixed with conventional polymers in such a way that microbes can break down the additive in the plastic, weakening the polymer matrix and resulting in very, very fine but pure polymer particles. This is another waste of materi- als. Whilst we need technological understanding and technical expertise, all conventional polymers can be recycled over and over again – they are a truly renewable resource. However, the use of “eco friendly”, biodegradable additives produces many non eco friendly problems. It takes a truly renewable resource, a con- ventional polymer, and renders it completely non-renewable by breaking it down into a form that cannot be recovered, even using the very high level of development skills demonstrated by the plastics recycling industry. Biodegradable additives in plastics packaging, especially PET, have been recognised as a major concern for the recycle industry. Claims from manu- facturers that their additives have no effect on PET recycling are not backed by publication of any scientific evidence that this is so. In particular there has been no approach to the EPBP (the European PET Bottle Platform) or APR (Association of Postconsumer Plastics Recycling) so that these types of additives can be fully evaluated and approved by those with an interest in the recycling of PET. Indeed, APR has published its serious concern about this type of technology and the impact of such additives on the recycling proc- ess. As well as other outlets, RPET can be used for all virgin PET applica- tions including many that stress durability and physical performance. Buyers of RPET want not only the sustainability features of recycled material, but assurance of performance. Degradable additives that weaken products or shorten the useful life of PET will have a negative impact on postconsumer PET recycling. As we have reported before, in 2008 46% of all PET containers were col- lected for recycle in Europe, a great track record we feel sure will continue. This sustainability must not be sacrificed on the altar of biodegradation. www.petcore.org Extension of FDA approval for recycled PET The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of food and ready-prepared meal packaging and con- tainers made of up to 100% recycled PET (rPET) produced on Vacurema recycling equipment, even if temperatures rise above 120°C (250°F) during the heating process. The approval applies to both microwave and conventional oven cooking. Vacurema PET recycling equipment is made by Erema Engi- neering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H (Erema). The systems are already approved under FDA categories ‘C’ to ‘H’; they are now approved under FDA category ‘J’. All of the approvals apply to existing rPET pellets pro- duced by Vacurema recycling machines as well as new equipment. The company specialises in the develop- ment, manufacturing and worldwide distribu- tion of plastic recycling systems and tech- nologies for the plastics processing industry. It has sales and servicing companies in the USA, China and Japan, as well as 50 local representatives in countries across the world. www.erema.at Indian plastic packaging business expands Parle Agro, the Indian food and beverages enterprise, is aiming to increase its preform production capacity by 21% in financial year 2010/11. This is in addition to the increase of 17% already achieved in 2009/10. Parle Agro recently installed a KM 96 cavity machine and a Husky HyPET 72 cavity machine at its Silvassa plant, in the Indian Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The company has commissioned its second preform manufacturing plant in Orissa and plans to set up its third plant in South India by early 2011. The company says that it plans to increase its presence in the oil, confectionery and pharmaceutical segments and to seek new customers in the liquor sector, which is seeing a shift from glass to PET bottles. The company’s PET division supplies pre- forms to customers in the bottled water, ready- to-drink beverages, carbonated drinks, edible oil, confectionery and pharmaceutical segments. Its product range in terms of neck type are 30/25mm (water application); PCO neck (carbon- ated & juice application) and short neck (water). Parle Agro sells brands such as Frooti and Appy Classic in the Indian market but 60% of its PET perform production is supplied to exter- nal customers in India, SE Asia and Africa. www.parleagro.com