PETpla.net Insider 07+08 / 2012

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 29 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 07+08/12 www.petpla.net tamination temperature. The final step is treatment in the vacuum reactor, where all contaminants are removed from the product. Discharge on the principle of first-in-first-out guarantees a defined dwell time for the material in the reactor. These food-grade flakes are comparable to new ones in terms of their visual and physical character- istics. Line efficiency The first recycling line from Krones, at its maximum speed of 1t/h inputted, is currently achieving an output of around 700t/month of finished flakes. This corresponds to an efficiency of 93%. The food-grade PET flakes obtained from used PET bottles are processed at the com- pany’s own two plants at Kyoto and Kanto to make new PET trays and packages, e.g. as transparent egg carriers or trays for fruit. The PET recycling circuit has been closed. Over the course of decades, FPCO has built up closely intermeshed cooperation with supermarket chains, packaging wholesalers and consumer alliances for collecting and recycling polystyrene trays and transparent containers. CCT Creative Competence Technology GmbH Idsteiner Strasse 74 D-65527 Niedernhausen, Germany [email protected] www.cct-systems.com Developments Type 2925-1,25g CCTsystem®-SBT CCTsystem®-slit-band technology Type 1881-2,1g CCTsystem®-SFBT CCTsystem®-slit-fold- band technology All Closure types with CCTsystem®- BPT Best Performance Technology PET Molds Design and Patents Closure Molds Closure Systems Developments PET Systems Future prospects “We now want to concentrate on the efficiency of the second PET recycling line and optimise the bottle-to-tray pro- cess”, emphasises Yasuhiro Komatsu. “We can, of course, also think about direct bottle-to-bottle recycling. The key to worldwide recycling of plastics always lies in national legislation. Here in Japan, recycling is supported by the government by means of appropriate regulations and consumer education.” Since so far it is not yet permissible to use recycled materials for applications involved in direct contact with foods and beverages, FP Corporation is currently using a triple-layered film composed of new PET, recycled PET in the middle and new PET again, known as V-R-V films, standing for new virgin PET, recy- cled PET and once again virgin PET, so that the recycled PET comes into contact neither with the food nor with the consumer. What the FP Corpo- ration is targeting, however, is 100% use of food-grade rPET. “Our goal is to allay consumers’ fears and if at all possible to achieve approval for direct contact of recycled PET in line with the FDA’s specifications”, explains Yasuhiro Komatsu. “We are confident that this will be possible within the next three years.” www.krones.com FPCO produces disposable food trays made of plastic. Chairman of the Board and CEO Yasuhiro Komatsu founded the company back in 1962. In the 2010/2011 business year, FPCO’s turnover totalled 140 billion Yen, cor- responding to about €1.4 bn, and the group was employing more than 3,600 people. Based at Fukuyama in Hiroshima Province, the company has built up a densely meshed network of production facilities and recycling plants along the 3,000kms of this island realm. It comprises 13 production plants, three recycling facilities, ten sorting plants, eight logistic centres and ten picking facilities. Over the course of decades, FPCO has built its corporate growth primarily on food trays made of polystyrene (PS) and transparent packages made of OPS (oriented polystyrene) and PET for selling foods in supermarkets and retail outlets. www.fpco.jp In the decontamination module, the material is heated up to the requisite decontamination temperature. The final step is treatment in the vacuum reactor, where all contaminants are removed from the product.