PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2019

John Bickerstaff, production manager for the Real- Pure Bottling Company BOTTLING / FILLING PET planet Insider Vol. 20 No. 10/19 www.petpla.net 35 Lightweighting record The Richmonds are also eager to attain further pioneering status when it comes to sustainability. One of their chief concerns is that they reduce their bottle weights and thus the amount of PET used. “With the help of the experts from KHS’ Bottles & Shapes program and our preform manufacturer Plastipak we’re setting a new lightweighting record with practi- cally every new product we introduce,” smiles Kane Richmond. “In Magee we’ve been using 500ml PET bottles which weigh just 7.8 g since 2017 and on the brand new Tri- Block in Ocala the contain- ers only clock up 7 g on the scales.” Kane admits that with a recycling rate of a mere 30% the USA is no trailblazer when it comes to cutting down on plastic waste. However, the growing health awareness of his fellow countrymen and women, who are turning to bottled water with ever greater frequency, is being echoed by an increased sensitivity to the issue of sustainability. Of this he is convinced. He even suspects that the recy- cling rate among people who buy water is already much higher than among those who purchase sweetened beverages. At his company Kane does what he can. This includes recycling his own PET waste – where he’s soon to achieve a quota of 100%. www.khs.com PET BOTTLE RECYCLING LINE SUPER CLEAN PROCESS (SCP) M icro Denier Filament Grade www.bo-re-tech.com Modular Design for Flexible Layout Next Generation VISIT US 8BE31