PETpla.net Insider 11 / 2015

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 12 PET planet insider Vol. 16 No. 11/15 www.petpla.net EU Legislation needed for PET recycling From PET-to-PET to bottle-to-bottle in Austria by Wolfgang von Schroeter The recycling of resources is both a declared aim and an acknowledged necessity for any modern society. This basically applies to all packaging materials, for reasons of sustain- ability in particular but also to acknowledge the finite nature of resources. In the case of a material such as PET, the environment and protection of the environment also play an important role. PET should not – must not – be allowed to end up in landfill, it needs to be returned to the manufacturing process. The best PET case scenario is enshrined in the maxim “Old PET for New” - from bottle-to-bottle, i.e. from old PET bottle to new PET bottle. How is Austria responding to this challenge? We visited PET to PET Recy- cling Österreich GmbH in Müllen- dorf in the Burgenland where we conducted an interview with Man- aging Director, Dipl.-Ing. Christian Strasser. Our discussions consisted of questions and answers about a number of topics, including the recycling situation in Austria, relat- ing to state-of-the-art technology, the technologies currently in use, and potential opportunities. We also discussed current and by no means insignificant risks, both for the recy- cling culture and for the companies engaged in recycling. PET Recycling in Austria PET to PET Recycling Österreich GmbH has enjoyed two financially successful years in 2014 and 2015. The company’s success is founded on a two-pillar strategy: 1) First and foremost, strategic alignment with their partners, and a focus on individual perfor- mance and team engagement as well as 2) Respecting the environment, abid- ing by legislation, and developing a holistic approach to PET recycling in Austria. As a recycler, PET to PET Öster- reich GmbH is located midway on the value-added “old PET for new PET chain”, sandwiched between the col- lectors and the bottlers. Superficially, the company would appear to be unable to exercise little holistic influ- ence. Strasser: “Our company, PET to PET Recycling, is owned and backed by a number of companies in the beverages sector. This enables us to exert influence on the beverages sector as a whole, as is evidenced by the fact that all the participants in the PET bottles chain are committed to a close level of cooperation and a common purpose.” PET Agenda Austria The Sustainability Agenda is the voluntary commitment made by lead- ing beverages companies, involving the retail sector, the packaging indus- try, recycling systems and the bever- ages industry. It defines the aims of ecological recycling in Austria. Strasser: “There have been con- troversial discussions in the past about non-recyclable, two-way packaging – topics mentioned included meaning- ful action, obligatory deposit on bottles and mandatory measures, as we saw in our neighbouring country. These were the options that presented them- selves as a solution. We were then able to establish that a PET bottle, managed within a bottle-to-bottle pro- cess cycle, is virtually as effective as the ecologically acknowledged glass and recyclable packaging systems. In