PETpla.net Insider 01+02 / 2019

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 01+02/19 www.petpla.net 44 Increased use of rPET in disposable PET bottles in Germany The key to sustainability Germany’s RAL Gütegemeinschaft Wertstoffkette PET-Getränkeverpackungen e.V. (RAL Quality Association for the Recycling of PET Beverages Packaging) has determined that the use of recycled PET material in disposable PET bottles is to increase significantly. By 2022, PET beverage packaging carrying the RAL quality seal will incorporate 50 percent recycled PET material, on average; the minimum proportion of 25 percent required for the quality seal will remain. Irina Bremerstein, Managing Direc- tor of the RAL Quality Association for the Recycling of PET Beverages Packaging, emphasised that this deci- sion demonstrates the Association’s commitment to the guiding principles of the ‘circular economy’ for synthetic packaging. “We are making a clear state- ment about sustainability. With a high percentage of recycled material, the eco-balance of PET packaging will be even more favourable,” she said. Following a steady fall in weight and materials used in recent years, the Association considers the increase in the percentage of recycled materi- als in PET bottles to be key to sustain- able development. The RAL Quality Association’s new target is in compliance with the requirements of the German Packag- ing Act, which came into effect on 1 st January 2019. RAL’s minimum recy- cled materials requirement remains in place. In order to be certified in accordance with its test specifications, PET bottles must consist of at least 25% recycled PET material. According to Germany’s Gesells- chaft für Verpackungsmarktforschung (Association of Packaging Market Research), non-refillable PET bot- tles in Germany currently include an average of more than 26% recycled materials. A large share of used bottle material bypasses the bottle-to-bottle recycling loop and is used in, among other areas, the textile-fibre and plas- tic films industry. At the RAL Quality Association’s press conference at Brau Beviale 2018, Dr Isabell Schmidt, Director of the “Forum PET” and Managing Direc- tor of IK Industrievereinigung Kunst- stoffverpackungen e.V. (German Association for Plastics, Packaging and Films), and Jonas Harth of the ifeu Institute for Energy and Environ- mental Research Heidelberg, provided up-to-date facts and figures concern- ing current recycling levels. Germany recycled 93% of all used PET beverage bottles in 2017; the proportion with compulsory deposits exceeded 97%, Dr Schmidt announced. PET bottles manufac- tured in Germany in 2017 contained an average of 26.2% rPET, compared with 24% in 2013. Of the 93% of PET that was recy- cled, new beverage bottles accounted for 32.6%; PET plastic films, 29.4%; and the textile-fibre industry, 21.8%. Some 16.2% of recycled material found its way into other applications. The remaining 2-4% PET loss is accounted for by the recycling pro- cess. Mr Jonas Harth provided an insight into the eco-balance of PET recy- cling. This looked at the parameters of the choice of packaging materials (glass, PET, bioplastics, etc.), the ratio of packaging weight to contents, the proportion of recycled materials, the trippage rate, the structure of distribu- tion and the end-of-life parameters (recycling rate, proportion of waste incineration, etc.). He envisaged a clear benefit to closed-loop, bottle-to- bottle manufacturing, in which 100% rPET could, in principle, be used. When comparing reusable PET and glass bottles with disposable PET deposit bottles, disposable bottles in the water and CSD category demon- strate better results in terms of green- house gas emissions, assuming that the proportion of rPET is high, bottle weight is low, and distribution is local. Mr Harth explained that various well-known brand name manufactur- ers, NGOs and industry associations intend to focus increasingly on ensur- ing the use of rPET in the future, in both the EU and worldwide. www.wertstoff-pet.de www.forum-pet.de www.kunststoffverpackungen.de www.ifeu.de Jonas Harth (Ifeu) analyses the eco- balance of different packaging types. Dr Isabell Schmidt (Forum PET) shares details on the current recycling situation.