PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2020

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 06/20 www.petpla.net 17 improve elimination of high organic loads. Sieving at 0.8 mm eliminates lower density contaminants, includ- ing labels. Rinsing through a 0.8 mm sieve at 250-750 litres of water/t and gentle drying avoids material losses and fine generation. Avoiding fine separation can lead to increased PVC presence. The Ecosense Certification mark is aimed at those products that require multilayer packaging. The princi- pal DFR requirements are for: clear materials; adhesives soluble in 80 o C caustic washes; no PU; and barrier materials incorporated in the PET layer. The Ecosense circular model ensures traceability from tray waste along the value chain. PET in thermoforms The Recycling Thermoforms Work- ing Group goal is to increase PET’s market share in Europe’s thermoforms by providing sustainable and reliable end-of-life recycling solutions. Three task forces have been established. One is developing DFR guidelines; a second will report on sorting and recycling of PET thermo- forms. The third group is tasked with and communications to the industry. The industry wants to show that properly designed packaging, sepa- rate collection, good sorting and recy- cling of PET trays makes tray-to-tray recycling realistic, although a separate PET trays recycling stream is prob- ably required. Petcore Europe publishes and reg- ularly updates recyclability evaluation protocols for PET trays and wash-off of adhesives and labels. France presses forward France is aiming at a complete ban on all single-use plastic pack- aging by 2040, in stages. The new ‘banned’ list will be updated every five years. By 2030, all packaging must be recyclable and plastic beverage bottles will have been reduced by 50%, compared with 2019. All ambient fruit and vegetable packaging will be banned by 2022. Citeo, which is an officially regu- lated not-for-profit private company, is charged with organising collection, sorting and processing of waste pack- aging and paper; managing research programmes to develop eco-design and industrial processes; and raising public awareness of separating and sorting. Opaque PET bottles, primar- ily used for dairy products, account for three per cent of all PET bottles on the French market, amounting to 12,000 tonnes. As they contain Tita- nium Dioxide (TiO 2 ), they can block spinning processes and damage machinery. Opaque bottle recycling is now managed at plant entrances and opaque-only bale recycling began in January 2020. Bottle-to-bottle recycling is being developed with Paprec and French milk consortiums; enhanced recycling is being under- taken with Soprema. MonoPET trays in France now amount to 50,000 t/year, with a further 30-40,000 t/year of PET/PE trays. There are now several PET tray pro- jects and Citeo has worked with Pet- core on specifications for eco designs to facilitate tray to tray and enhanced recycling. The move is to monoPET on the base with floating lidding film, avoiding PET/PE combinations; PET foam; PET blister and GAG trays; and aluminium metallisation. Innovation in packaging is still possible, with the following provisos:  Recyclability must be addressed before launching any new package.  Recycling streams and partners must be clear from outset.  Recyclability must include sorting, recycling and outlet quality  Full recyclability test protocols must be accepted by all the value chain  Tests must be conducted on pilot lines, rather than as laboratory trials. The commitment of each ele- ment in the value chain is essential in achieving closed loop manufacturing. www.petcore-europe.org Fig.2: The collobaration of all stakeholder, by Dr Ana Fernandez KP, presented at Petcore Europe 2020