PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2016

TRADE SHOW REVIEW 28 PET planet Insider Vol. 17 No. 12/16 www.petpla.net It was not just new developments in the beer industry and craft beer produc- tion which were discussed at the 2016 BrauBeviale Forum: the PET industry traditionally includes its technologies and themes in BrauBeviale. This year, the theme of ecological further devel- opment of PET drinks packaging was discussed and initiatives were put for- ward. The organisers of the forum are old acquaintances and come together regularly to present their joint concerns, to advertise their initiatives and to report on their positive developments: Dr Isa- bell Schmidt, Head of the Forum PET for IK Industry Association for Plastic Packaging, Mrs Stefanie Sabet, Head of the Federal Union for the German Nutrition Industry, as well as the RAL, represented by Mrs Irina Bremerstein, managing director of RAL and Mr Andreas Normann, Chair of the RAL Board of Directors. The team of speak- ers was strengthened by Benedikt Kau- ertz from the Ifeu Institute in Heidelberg, Germany who explained the PET bottle eco-balance and Mr Tomas Hromjak, as a representative for the Alpla company, who spoke about sustainability at Alpla. “When it comes to recycling, PET drinks packaging proves to have a peak figure compared to other types of packaging” says Dr Isabell Schmidt, Head of the Forum PET for IK Indus- try Association for Plastic Packaging. In particular, the non-refillable PET bottles with a deposit could be slightly increased from the already high recy- cling level of 97.2%, which was the figure achieved during the study in 2013 when they were issued for the first time. In 2015 a recycling quota of 97.9% was achieved. High return levels keep the materials cycle healthy 98.8% of the non-refillable PET drinks packaging with a deposit were recorded, according to the study on materials collected, most of which users throw into the deposit collection boxes. Against this background, the PET Forum recommends retaining the deposit. The drinks industry has a vital joint respon- sibility for recycling used PET bottles. A good third (34%) of recycled material is used in the manufacture of new PET bottles. Although the price difference between new and recycled PET material has gone down since 2013, the amount of recycled PET increased. In 2015, PET drinks bottles on average used 26% recycled material whereas in 2013 this figure was still at 24%. Increased use of rPET predicted According to the study, even higher levels of rPET in the recycling pro- cess are just a question of time. It can already be seen that PET recycling levels will rise. Smaller price fluctuations would favour an increased use of rPET. In some non-refillable PET bottles, the level is already well over 55%. Despite widespread pre-conceptions about PET, the cycle of PET material occurs principally in Germany. In 2015 a good 80% of the used material was recycled nationally. The exported amounts were mainly recycled in neighbouring coun- tries but is decreasing. Recycling plays almost no role in the Far East. These results please the RAL Gütegemeinschaft Wertstoffkette PET-Getränkeverpackungen e.V. [RAL Quality Assurance Associa- tions materials chain for PET drinks packaging] which awards the RAL quality sign “PET recyclable material” to fillers, bottle and preform manu- facturers as well as recycling compa- nies which meet the quality and test provisions of the quality association. Andreas Normann, Chair of the RAL Board of Directors, sets out the RAL aim: “The aim of the quality associa- tion is, for drinks packaging, to close down the materials cycle for PET as the packaging material and thus increase the levels of rPET in drinks bottles. In this way, the further devel- opment of PET drinks bottles can be continually promoted, under ecologi- cal considerations, which is a positive contribution to resource efficiency and environmental and climate protec- tion”. The requirements for members in the areas of recycled manufacture, preform production and filling min- eral water and soft drinks are set and correspond to the legal requirements. Members will be checked by RAL Quality Assurance Associations regu- larly and anonymously in co-operation with research establishments (Frese- nius/Frauenhofer Institut). Benedikt Kauertz from the Ifeu Institute in Heidelberg, an expert on life cycle assessment has, for an order from Hansa Heemann AG, developed a calculator for determin- ing the environmental footprint of the PET bottle. This calculator can randomly change the level of rPET in a PET bottle. The calculator produces the particular eco-balance per per- centage of the rPET. Fig. 1 explains the factors taken into account for a BrauBeviale Forum on the theme of further ecological development of PET drinks packaging rPET for improving the PET bottle eco-balance The new study “The use and recycling of PET drinks bot- tles in Germany 2015”, about which the IK Industry Associa- tion for Plastics Packaging and films gave a talk, proved that the bottle deposit is responsible for the high recycling quota with PET bottles. Whilst 93.5% of all PET bottles are recy- cled, the count of non-refillable PET bottles with a deposit is 97.9%. The industry is therefore taking the target to introduce more rPET into the material cycle further. The average level increased in comparison to the drinks bottle production in the previous year, 2013 – despite the disadvantageous higher price for recycled as opposed to new PET.