PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 23 No. 10/22 www.petpla.net Driving global harmonisation for recyclability RecyClass and the US based Association of Plastics Recyclers, the international association representing the plastics recycling industry, reinforce their collaboration to drive worldwide harmonisation of plastic packaging recyclability. The basis of this collaboration is a shared vision of science-based design for recycling guidelines and protocols for recyclability assessments. This partnership is indispensable to drive unified, fact-based approach to recyclability and to bring clarity for the whole value chain, specifically brand owners and retailers who operate in multinational markets. “RecyClass mission, beyond supporting the industry in redesigning plastic packaging and boosting recycled material in new products, is to harmonise the approach toward recyclability assessment”, said Fabrizio di Gregorio, Technical Director at Plastics Recyclers Europe. “Given the similarities when it comes to the products placed on the markets globally, such harmonisation can help make the packaging production systems more efficient and at the same time accelerate significantly the transition toward circularity”, he added. This collaboration includes establishing a common workplan to align and review the existing documents with an objective to identify potential gaps, consolidate existing methodologies and map additional testing methods. The first deliverables, focused on aligning the guidelines and protocols for flexible plastics, are expected at the beginning of 2023. “The purpose of design guides is to ensure packages can be processed through the recycling infrastructure with the highest yield and best quality impact. Since the European and North American recycling infrastructures operate on many of the same principles, it is possible to harmonise much of the guidance. I’m excited that RecyClass and APR are making efforts to communicate and coordinate. These efforts benefit the entire packaging industry and circular economy,” said Curt Cozart, Chief Operating Officer at APR. The two organisations endorsed a common definition of recyclability back in 2018 which stipulates that to be considered recyclable, a product must be able to be collected and sorted in sufficient quantities. It must be as well compatible with existing industrial recycling processes or be available in sufficient quantities to justify the development of new recycling processes to become a raw material for new products. This partnership is an important effort to harmonise the standards available on the market. RecyClass, together with APR, is prone to collaborate with other organisations willing to make plastic products compatible with recycling and deliver on the EU targets of making all plastic packaging recyclable by 2030. www.recyclass.eu www.plasticsrecyling.org Plant for chemically recycled PET Köksan PET Packaging Industry Co. introduces its new chemically recycled PET production with its patented (pending) process technology with a total capacity of 300 tons per day. According to the company the plant is designed to produce 100% rPET resin which will be ready to use for both bottle grade and textile applications. Köksan uses two CP lines with 600 tons line capacity each per day for PET resin production and is now adding a third line made by Polytex with a unique energy saving production process, according to the management. The high IV rPET CP 300 tons/day project CP for various packaging and textile grade applications has been officially launched on August 29, 2022. Chemical recycling through the glycolysis process is turning PET into bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET) monomers which are already being used in CP lines up to 50%. The plant will be fully up and running for operation by the end of 2023. www.koksan.com Help us shape the circular economy! Technically-minded and keen to protect the climate? Relish a challenge and want to help find the right people to do something about the plastic waste on our planet? Then Krones Recycling Solutions is the right place for you! For more than 20 years, we have been developing innovative technologies to keep valuable packaging materials within a closed loop – and to take our vision of a sustainable industry from Flensburg out into the wider world. There is more to do than ever, which is why we are now looking for committed individuals to join our team – for example in the following areas: Mechanical/electrical design and automation Process engineering Product management Erection and commissioning at customers' premises worldwide Employee management Maybe you share our vision of a waste-free world, but don't see your abilities reflected fully in any of these job areas? Then why not send us an unsolicited application? Because job titles are not what matters to us. What is important is who you are and what you can do. Any questions? Please contact Astrid Schwartz ([email protected]) for more information. We look forward to receiving your application (including all relevant documents). These can be uploaded in just a few clicks on our careers portal at www.krones.com.
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