PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2020

MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 06/20 www.petpla.net 19 cally possible under strict regulations and approval processes: mechanical or chemical. Mechanical recycling is currently the overwhelming reality in the industry. It is fairly simple since it is about shredding, washing and upgrad- ing the original material. Chemical recycling, on the other hand, requires a longer cycle time. The molecules need to be broken up and the process of manufacturing the plastic from the very beginning needs to be restarted, creating additional costs. Nevertheless, at least three benefits are expected from chemical recycling technologies: the consistency of the quality of the recycled PET compared to virgin PET, absolute food safety and the possibil- ity to mix the material with coloured and/or opaque PET. The willpower to push the packaging business towards a circular economy has revived chemi- cal recycling. We are expecting to see it happen on an industrial scale in the next three to five years as a reasonable complement to mechanical recycling. For both mechanical and chemical recycling, collection and sorting are key regarding not only the quantity, but also the quality of the washed flakes, requir- ing adequate consumer behaviour, infrastructure and supporting regulation. However, if, as we assume, PET continues to be increasingly used in the future, the source of this PET remains an open question. Fossil-based vs bio-based vs bio-degradable Currently, the market is built on pure fossil-based PET with more than half of the world’s current synthetic fibre and bottle demand being met by PET. But when studying bio-based sources, we see that basically any kind of plastic can be made from them, raising the question as to whether we need to increase bio- NO. ONE-WAY PRODUCTION. YES. TOP QUALITY RECYCLING. How can your recycled product meet permanently increasing demands? With the CHT range of high performance process solutions with environmental relief for the wet chemical cleaning. We support you directly on site and ensure your quality controls in our laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment. Thus, your strong position in the growing market is confirmed day by day. More about us at www.cht.com Mr Luc Desoutter Sustainability Officer at Sidel