PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2020

TRADE SHOW REVIEW PET planet Insider Vol. 21 No. 03/20 www.petpla.net 42 TRADE SHOW REVIEW 42 Standard recycling often results in down-cycling; it will turn your old plastic keg into a park bench or other low-grade plastic product. The manu- facturers of Keykeg/Unikeg continue to put in place processes to recover and reuse materials for the next new kegs. This is dependent on the devel- opment of technology, techniques and other influences. Innovation projects in materials selection and sourcing, processing and up-cycling from collected used kegs are ongo- ing every day. Rather than opt for waste to energy, technology is suf- ficiently advanced to collect and sort plastics which can then be processed to be ready for re-use in the same or comparable products. This prevents the need for more virgin material to be used in the next new packag- ing product. It is important that the recovered materials can continuously be used for new products. Contami- nating rPET with additives should not be accepted by purchasers, whether they are producers or consumers. Keykeg/Unikeg proposes that buyers ensure that post-consumer recyclate (PCR) can be used to create new transparent kegs. Chemical recycling is the least attractive method; any benefit for the environment is only slightly better than waste-to-energy incineration. Products making use of blended materials for barrier properties, most likely only to be recovered by chemi- cal recycling, should be considered as less favourable. OneCircle Community Keykeg/Unikeg are supported by OneCircle, a community with all activities related to the use of sustainable kegs at its core. This also includes the development of global collection, sorting and re-use of materials community, with the fundamental aim to leave the world a better place. Delivering one-way kegs to the market without account- ability in the supply and waste stream is no longer either socially acceptable or commercially viable. The future for sustainable plastic kegs Creating plastic kegs in today’s packaging world continues to be based on ongoing innovation and is strongly related to plastics re-use. Most providers are focused on product inno- vations, creating different size ranges in their portfolios and on the creation of competitive edge in the market. Simply reducing the per-litre cost of packaging does little or nothing to address re-use objectives. For companies such as One Circle and its product portfolio, Keykeg and Unikeg, the focus is as follows: 1) Handgrips and base cups are made out of 100% circular materi- als (PP); suppliers are requested to evidence this in their supply chain. 2) The preform is designed to reduce the amount of plastics used. The lower the weight, the less raw and PCR material is used. 3) Where possible, clear PET is used to ensure 100% re-use by mechan- ical recycling is possible. 4) Innovation projects, for bags and amber blended PET, are in place to support full circular principles and deliver a sustainable solution. Recyclability is no longer enough, measured against today’s stand- ards. Keykeg and Unikeg, in addition to being made out of 100% re-used PP material, will be made of re-used clear PET material from the beginning of April 2020, which takes the total of PCR up to 45%. This number will increase further in the course of 2020. Keykeg’s recycled content will be further increased by incorporating a substantial amount of recycled mate- rial in its inner container. One Circle continues to invest to create a global keg collection network to support the re-use of plastics used in kegs. This network is currently used only by Keykeg and Unikeg but is open to other providers on the understanding that the costs are shared equally. One Circle’s aim is to leave the world a better place, to eliminate waste of resources such as materials and water, and to promote the sus- tainable use of plastic kegs over other packaging solutions such as steel kegs and bottles. Product design, supply chain advantages as well as a responsible approach to collection and re-use is building a platform for future sustainable kegs. www.lightweight-containers.com .com 100815dmyL