PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2013

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 32 PET planet insider Vol. 14 No. 10/13 www.petpla.net The likelihood that the successful development of PRS and the recycling system as a whole may also have something to do with the personalities of the directors and the management, as well as their professional tenacity, diplomatic skills and continuity on- going over a number of years cannot be ruled out. René Herzog, who has been discharging the duties of Manag- ing Director for more than 20 years, will be retiring in 2013. His successor, Jean-Claude Würmli, has committed himself to carrying on the tradition. Bottling in closed circuit Call it a Swiss phenomenon if you will, this closed circuit bottling with the emphasis on the word ’closed‘. The target agreed by all those concerned is to ensure that this closed circuit solution is applied to as many PET bottles filled and used in Switzerland as possible. 60% of all bottles are being collected, sorted and recycled before they find their way into new PET bottles in the form of flakes or granulate and are subsequently re- absorbed into the same cycle. The remaining 40% end up as raw mate- rial for secondary markets. Over 90% of the PET material stays in Switzer- land. Clean goods are supplied and returned. At the beginning and end of the bottle-to-bottle cycle are the bottling companies. Up to a maximum of 40% recyclate (RPET) is added to new virgin for manufacture of new PET bottles. The unavoidable waste has left the circuit already in the early sort- ing processes. PRS is responsible for the com- prehensive collection of used PET beverage bottles and for compress- ing, sorting and re-compressing them, for supplying sorted PET beverage bottles to the recyclers RecyPET AG and ITW Poly Recycling GmbH who supply RPET to the bottlers. René Herzog says: “From the point of view of quality, it is important to us that the cycle in Switzerland should take place with materials that have been processed exclusively in Switzerland. Once filled in Switzerland, the PET bottle stays in Switzerland, it is col- lected up and returned to the cycle. It is only in this way that we can ensure proper management of quality con- trol”. Financing arrangements Since 1991 PET Recycling Swit- zerland has been levying a pre-paid contribution to recycling on PET disposable bottles. This contribution, together with the proceeds from the sale of collected material to the recy- cling factories, serves as a straight- forward financing instrument, with no profit or market control objectives, for financing collections, transport, administration and communication. (i.e. 2/3 of cost from pre-paid contribu- tion, 1/3 from sale of collected PET). Collecting the PET bottles Collecting PET is a straightforward affair and yet it is during the process of collecting the PET bottles that the success of the Swiss system over- all is judged. At the same time social acceptance and how to motivate eve- ryone to join in is just as important as collecting the bottles. PRS is responsible for organising the collection of the PET bottles. PET beverage bottles can be handed in at sales points selling beverages in PET bottles in more than 7,000 locations. In addition, public collection contain- ers are available. With 7,000 locations obliged to collect the recycling quota of 55% is achieved. Growth potential is nearly exhausted. And then there are operators of collection booths with a total of approx. 30,000 operations in the work and leisure sector. These account for more than 2/3rds of the overall network of collection points: offices, schools, inns, hotels, filling stations, railway stations, sports grounds, hospitals and homes. Here 26% of recycling quota is achieved. Growth potential exists for new voluntary col- lection. In total 55% plus 26% equals to 81%. Despite the cost the recycling quota above 75% is being achieved with voluntary collection only. The PET bottles, once collected, are picked up by PET Recycling Switzer- René Herzog, Managing Director (left), and Jean-Claude Würmli, Deputy Managing Director of PET Recycling Switzerland (PRS) Caspar van den Dungen, Managing Director of ITW Poly Recycling GmbH