PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2013

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 23 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 06/13 Recycling PET bottles at work When it comes to PET recycling, there are predominantly two com- panies that enjoy a good reputation with the Japanese public: Suntory Holdings Ltd. and Kyoei Industry Co. Companies made a concerted initiative to establish a “bottle to bottle” cycle, where bot- tles collected are recycled into a new PET bottle, the driving force being the technology of mechanical recycling ( in contrast to chemical recy- cling, where the bottles are broken down chemically to the molecular level.  Used PET bottles, mainly collected from house- holds, are sorted in Kyoei’s plant and pro- cessed, including being crushed into small pieces, washed with alkaline fluids and cleaned of impure substances. Chemicals and other substances are totally removed from the resin, which is then recycled into high quality material suitable for new bottles. The equipment used comes from Europe.  Since 2011, Suntory’s Haruna Plant has started on a test basis using the recycled resin. The plant uses a blend of 50% Kyoei’s resin, which is mechanically recycled, together with 50% of chemically recycled resin - to produce 2l PET bottles for tea. It was Japan’s first major step into mechani- cal material recycling. Suntory has said in future it wants to establish a new resource recycling system together with consumers. Suntory plans to use 100 mechanically recycled materials in order to fur- ther minimise the quantity of new petroleum required and also cut carbon diox- ide emissions. Conclusions The Japanese Packaging Recy- cling Law which is laid down by Gov- ernment Ministries in combination with the voluntary obligation among PET bottle manufacturers, users, consumers and municipalities is considered effective. It can be said, that the collection rate is high – the bale quality is high – the high export of PCR to China is seen as a long term problem. Mechanical BtoB was started to economise processes. The voluntary action plan for 3R promotion is widely accepted and effective, in respect of higher collection, increased knowledge, insight and experience as well as in material savings. Sources: CPBR: Council for PET Bottle Recycling JCPRA: Japan Containers & Packaging Recycling Association Suntory – Corporate Message GEA Procomac S.p.A. 8KC (GFQNƂ 5CNC $CICP\C 2CTOC +VCN[ 2JQPG (CZ UCNGU RTQEQOCE KV"IGC EQO YYY IGC EQO )'# 2TQEGUU 'PIKPGGTKPI GPIKPGGTKPI HQT C DGVVGT YQTNF )'# 2TQEQOCE DQVVNG ƂNNKPI VGEJPQNQI[ HQT NKSWKF FCKT[ OCTMGV /GGV WU CV Drinktec /WPKEJ )GTOCP[ 5GRVGODGT Hall A4 Stand 314