No.1+2 2023 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 06 . 02 . 23 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey Suppliers of resins & additives Page 28 Page 10 MATERIALS / RECYCLING Page 14
The all-new PET-LINE comes with a variety of advantages to maximize output and minimize costs: • Maximum compatibility with legacy molds and PMC • Shortest cycle times for increased output • Lowest level of energy consumption to minimize the ecological footprint • Improved 100 % rPET processing to enable the circular economy • New control unit including Smart Operation to ensure easy, fast and safe start-up and production • Available with 3000, 4000 and 5000 kN clamping force More details on www.netstal.com FLIPPING THE WORLD OF PET UPSIDE DOWN AND EVEN SIDEWAYS THE ALLNEW PETLINE WITH SIDE ENTRY. SCAN ME
No.1+2 2023 www.petpla.net D 51178; ISSN: 1438-9452 06 . 02 . 23 PETplanet is read in more than 140 countries MAGAZ I NE FOR BOT T L E R S AND BOT T L E - MAK E R S IN THE AMER ICAS, AS IA, EUROPE AND AL L AROUND THE PLANET MARKETsurvey Suppliers of resins & additives Page 28 Page 10 MATERIALS / RECYCLING Page 14
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imprint EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Alexander Büchler, Managing Director HEAD OFFICE heidelberg business media GmbH Hubweg 15 74939 Zuzenhausen, Germany phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 info@petpla.net EDITORIAL Kay Barton Heike Fischer Gabriele Kosmehl Michael Maruschke Ruari McCallion Anthony Withers WikiPETia. info petplanet@petpla.net MEDIA CONSULTANTS Martina Hirschmann hirschmann@petpla.net Johann Lange-Brock lange-brock@petpla.net phone: +49 6221-65108-0 fax: +49 6221-65108-28 LAYOUT AND PREPRESS EXPRIM Werbeagentur | exprim.de Matthias Gaumann READER SERVICES reader@petpla.net PRINT Chroma Druck Eine Unternehmung der Limberg-Druck GmbH Danziger Platz 6 67059 Ludwigshafen, Germany WWW www.hbmedia.net | www.petpla.net PETplanet Insider ISSN 1438-9459 is published 10 times a year. This publication is sent to qualified subscribers (1-year subscription 149 EUR, 2-year subscription 289 EUR, Young professionals’ subscription 99 EUR. Magazines will be dispatched to you by airmail). Not to be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher. Note: The fact that product names may not be identified as trademarks is not an indication that such names are not registered trademarks. 3 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net Dear readers, PETplanet is finally back in India! The pandemic interfered with our visits to India for a long time. We have continued to report from afar, but in such a market with its 1.4 billion people, where consumer behaviour is changing more rapidly than almost anywhere else, it is almost sacrilegious not to be able to be there in person for so long. Last December, after a forced break of two years, I was finally back on the ground, both at the local beverage trade fair Drink Technology India (DTI) in Mumbai and at some processors and bottlers, including the Pepsi bottler of the Jaipuria Group in the city of Jammu, where Alexander Buechler had last been in 2009. This time, DTI was co-organised with Pack Mach Asia Expo and World Tea & Coffee. The organiser Messe München India counted a total of 13,104 visitors from 33 countries - an increase of around 8% compared to the last DTI in Mumbai in 2018. The mood of optimism and enthusiasm was palpable. One of the most moving topics in the industry is sustainability, recycling and the future use of rPET in beverage and food packaging. This topic, which has been discussed in India since the possibility of producing food-grade recyclate was first mooted and is now expected to be implemented this year, is set to shake up the PET packaging market. Enjoy reading our first issue of 2023! Yours, Kay Barton
PETcontents 4 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 1+2/2023 Page 46 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 10 “Our activities are circular and local” - Recycling plastic packaging 12 rPET and preform production under one roof - Investment in state-of-the-art equipment pays off 14 PET raw material and recyclate from India - A conversation with India’s largest private company 16 New site and technology centre for colour and additive development in Singapore 17 South Africa’s plastics production & recycling both growing 18 US PET recycling reaches record levels but more to be done 20 Recycling of 4 billion plastic bottles per year 21 Supporting the chemical dissolution of PET with glycol 22 Mechanically recycled clear rPET - Issues facing the rPET market 25 Prevention of ageing and discolouration of rPET 26 Demand more from PET, less from the planet - Building the circular economy 30 Sustainablility-enabling additives for food and beverage packaging 33 Plasticising in a gentle way - Higher performance without loss of quality 34 From pre-sorting to material analysis MARKET SURVEY 28 Suppliers of resins & additives BOTTLE MAKING 39 Moving into new territory - Polyoak goes big in bottles with Sipa TRADE SHOW REVIEW 40 Market developments in the plastics industry and the NPE 2024 42 Drinktec 2022, review part 3 45 K 2022, review part 2 BUYER’S GUIDE 48 Get listed! INSIDE TRACK 3 Editorial 4 Contents 6 News 36 Products: Materials / Recycling 54 Outer Planet Page 10 Page 43 MATERIALS / RECYCLING
yellow.agency A FAMILY OWNED SWISS COMPANY. T OTA LLY SW I S S. OUR INJEC T ION MOULDS FOR PE T AND PAC FE ATURE ROCK-SOL ID, GENUINE SWISS CRAF TSMANSHIP. OT TO-HOFSTE T TER . SWISS
PETnews 6 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net Chinaplas 2023 Green, Smart, Advance are the 3 keywords the organisers chose for the 2023 edition of Chinaplas. The trade show will take place from April 17-20, 2023 in Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center (SWECC), Shenzhen, PR China. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in these 3 hot technologies under one roof, helping inspire new ideas and explore new opportunities. Innovations towards a Circular Economy: Under the theme “A Brighter and Shared Future, Powered by Innovation”, Chinaplas intends to provide visitors with a whole spectrum of sustainable solutions in 3 theme zones, including Recycled Plastics Zone, Bioplastics Zone, and Recycling Technology Zone. With over 14,000 m2, 200+ machine makers and materials providers are to showcase latest environmentally-friendly plastic materials and processing technologies. Plastics and rubber industries go smart: The adoption of a smart manufacturing process in all aspects of production – from product design, actual production, supply chain, distribution and sales, and delivery – has made it possible for plastic companies to withstand current and future challenges. Digitalisation has been increasingly applied particularly in plastics production processes. There is a growing need for advanced machinery and auxiliary equipment, sensors, process control software and other products to transform a plastics production facility into a smart manufacturing plant. In the rising trend of digitalisation among plastics and rubber industries, the trade show will bring together almost 330 solution providers around the world in Injection Moulding and Smart Manufacturing Solutions Zone with over 60,000m2. Advance - Automation + 3D Printing: The 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, market has seen a tremendous growth in recent years. The global 3D printing plastics market reached USD 786.9 million in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.9% from 2022 to 2030. In addition to the advanced automation and robotics technologies in the Injection Moulding Solutions Zone, a 3D Tech Zone will also be set up. At the theme zone, visitors will be able to discover new 3D printing materials, technologies and hardware. China relaxes travel restriction Three years after border controls were imposed, China relaxed travel restriction from January 8, 2023. Overseas travellers will only have to show a negative nucleic acid test result obtained within 48 hours of travel and will no longer need to undergo health code and quarantine upon arrival, and will be able to enter society directly. China will improve visa arrangements for foreigners and resume international flights gradually. www.chinaplasonline.com Remo Heusi appointed new Vice President Global Service at Netstal Remo Heusi has been appointed as the new Vice President Global Service to lead and further develop the strategically important global service business of the Netstal Group. As a member of the Executive Board of Netstal Maschinen AG, he will report directly to Renzo Davatz, CEO of Netstal and member of the Executive Committee of KraussMaffei. Predecessor Frank Arnold is leaving Netstal at his own request effective March 31, 2023. He has successfully led the Service Division since January 2018 and actively promoted the reconstruction of the independent service organisation of the Netstal Group last year. Remo Heusi comes from Bühler Group, a globally operating Swiss technology group, where he has held various service and sales functions since 2007, including Head of Business Development Customer Service and Head of Single Machine Business. www.netstal.com UK: Deposit Return Scheme for drinks containers moves a step closer A new cash incentive system, placing deposits on drinks bottles and cans, is intended to boost recycling in the UK from 2025. New plans set out in a consultation response detail that, through small cash deposits placed on single-use drinks containers, people will likely be incentivised to recycle their drinks bottles and cans, reducing litter and plastic pollution. The scheme would include reverse vending machines and designated sites where people can return their bottles and receive their cash back. In most cases it would be the retailers who sell drinks covered by the scheme who would host a return point. The new scheme, covering England, Wales and Northern Ireland, is set to be introduced in 2025, following extensive work with industry to prepare for the necessary changes – including setting up infrastructure and amending labelling. A target is in place to collect over 85% of returnable drinks containers once the scheme is up and running. www.gov.uk
7 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net ClipAside, drink, love! Tethered ClipAside closure wins high acceptance Contact us and arrange your line trials now! www.bericap.com PET 38 PET 29/25 PCO 1881 PET 33 PET 26 PET 26 GME 30.40 A recent consumer real-life “diary study” conducted in France found a high level of acceptance among consumers for the innovative new closure. After just one or two experiences, even the youngest and oldest users could handle the smart closure without difficulty – often with one hand. What’s more, many praised the eco-friendly nature of the cap, which remains on the bottle neck and avoids creating additional plastic waste. Best of all for you, this premium product can be integrated into most lines and any popular bottle neck format without major modification of your production equipment. Get to knowour complete ClipAside range at Interpack 2023!
8 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net Biorecycling of PET: Carbios and Novozymes strengthen collaboration with long-term exclusive strategic partnership Carbios and Novozymes, leaders in biological solutions, announced an exclusive long-term global strategic partnership. This agreement ensures the long-term production and supply of Carbios’ proprietary PET-degrading enzymes at an industrial scale for the world’s first biological PET-recycling plant due to start production in 2025 in Longlaville, France, as well as Carbios’ future licensee customers. Carbios and Novozymes have had a partnership since 2019 to develop enzyme-based solutions and address the sustainability challenge of plastic pollution, both within PETrecycling and PLA-biodegradation. Building on the current Joint Development Agreement (JDA), under the new agreement, Carbios and Novozymes will extend their collaboration to develop, optimise and produce enzymes that will subsequently be supplied by Novozymes to all licensees of Carbios’ technology. The new agreement grants both parties exclusivity in the field of the partnership. The strategic partnership supports the large-scale industrial deployment of Carbios’ patented PET-recycling technology starting with Carbios’ future industrial reference unit in Longlaville, which will be the world’s first biological PET-recycling plant. Construction will begin later this year, and both building and operating permits having been filed with local authorities. Production at the plant is set to start in 2025 and the processing capacity will be 50,000 t/a of waste. www.carbios.com Petcore Executive Director Christian Crépet to assume an Ambassador role and becomes a honorary member of the board Petcore Europe announced that Christian Crépet, who has served as Executive Director of the association since 2017, moved into an Ambassador role as of January 1, 2023. Christian Crepét has spent his career within the industry and has a deep knowledge of PET collection and recycling. During his tenure, Petcore has grown to comprise 140 members which has enabled the association to adapt its working groups to the EU regulatory priorities. Petcore’s public and regulatory objectives are to drive towards more collection, safety, recycling and circularity, and to position PET as the packaging that is made to be remade and designed to be reused. During his time as Executive Director Christian also held a series of high-profile annual conferences gathering stakeholders from across the industry and the EU institutions. As of January 1, 2023, Ermis Panagiotopoulos took on the role of interim Executive Director for the next few months, while the association has begun an executive search to appoint a permanent replacement. Ermis comes with more than 15 years of experience in European public affairs, having worked for industry associations, NGOs and the European Commission. He joined Indorama Ventures PCL as Head of Sustainability Advocacy EMEA in September 2022 after 6 years as Sustainability Director of Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE). www.petcore-europe.org Icis PET Value Chain Conference 2023 This year‘s Icis PET Value Chain conference will be taking place in the city of Vienna, Austria, at the Ritz Carlton Hotel from March 7-8, 2023. The conference will bring together the leading experts in the PET industry to discuss the latest trends and developments. The agenda for the two-day event will cover an array of topics to help keep PET professionals up-to-date with the most current industry insights. From reviewing the supply and demand outlook and feedstock dynamics to exploring regulation updates and uncertainty surrounding energy costs, attendees will have the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from the experts. Additionally, the conference will feature panel discussions examining the transition towards a circular economy while defending the region’s competitive position as well as assessing the impact of consumer purchase behaviour changes on the PET industry. At the Icis PET Value Chain conference, PET professionals will also have the chance to network with their peers and share their own experiences and best practices. PETplanet readers can register here and benefit from a 10% discount: bit.ly/3wmQpJk Christian Crépet Ermis Panagiotopoulos
9 NEWS PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net An endless range of production possibilities with single-stage SIPA S.p.A. - Via Caduti del Lavoro, 3 - 31029 Vittorio Veneto (TV) - Italy - Tel. +39 0438 911511 - sipa@zoppas.com - www.sipa.it ECS SP models stand for a guarantee of quality based on 35 years of experience in Injection Stretch-Blow Molding technologies (ISBM) technology. Their robust system, produced in Italy, allows for the production of high quality containers in a wide variety of different sizes, threads and shapes. Tooling investment can often be optimized by using one single (i.e. shared) hot runner withmultiple cold halves. ECS SPmachines have features that enable quick change-overs, accept legacy molds and are also characterized by their compact layouts and high HQHUJ\ HIĆFLHQF\. Injection Stretch BlowMolding System
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 10 Recycling plastic packaging “Our activities are circular and local” Our last visit in Spain is already close to the French border. In the north-east, 20 km from the Atlantic coast, a good acquaintance, Mikel Urain, an expert in the PET industry, welcomes us to his company EkoRec. We are curious about his new company and torture the Editourmobile the last kilometres through the Spanish heat. MATERIALS / RECYCLING Mikel Urain has been in the PET industry for about 15 years. At ABC Compressors as Global Sales & Technical Service Director CCO, then as General Manager at BeandBe Beverages. Now he welcomes us in the mid of pressed and tied PET bales. In his office he tells us about his company EkoRec. “Ekorec Group was created in 2012 as a key player on Spanish circular economy. Part of our industrial equipment and background comes from the extinguished textile activity that was performed in our facilities. Ekorec industrial know-how on recycling and PET transformation was powered in 2021 through the merge operation with its mother company Bascotecnia (EPC Engineering Group created in 1976). The resulting industrial group is a unique example of integrated circular economy adding recycling activities with PET transformation and engineering consultancy. Three factories are located on 75,000m2 of industrial space and house four business units. Not to forget the company’s own combined heat and power plant;” Mikel explained. EkoRec integrates in the same industrial area PET recycling plant and rPET sheet, reducing CO2 footprint of the whole process. “Our activities are circular and local. Taking care and controlling the whole flow from each individual bottle recycling act to the processed rPET sheets and flakes that will close the loop and become again a sustainable packaging solution,” Mikel mentioned. He continues, “Our facilities and production machinery allow us to be flexible with our customers and offer highest food grade products under BRC certification. We recycle post consumer and post industrial bottles, preforms and PET sheet into new raw materials for bottle-to-bottle granule production and rPET sheet. Our sheet production business unit manufactures 100% rPET sheet, multilayer and medium - high barrier sheets. We manage full logistics to final destinations, with regular deliveries to main industrial areas in Spain and Europe.”EkoRec works in high demanding sectors such as food & beverage, automotive and pharmamedical industry. “Therefore, quality is a strong value that rules all we do. 100% of our rPET flakes and any raw material used for our plastic processing goes through our quality department and laboratory. Our general processes and procedures are certified under ISO9001 and our products do have BRC Packaging Materials certification.” In the PET recycling area, we see a state-of-the-art sorting and recycling equipment from STF Germany with sorting technology of Sesotec. “We have a warehousing capacity for bales and flakes of about 3,000 t and a production capacity of 15,000 t a year. Our own quality flakes are called Eko PET. We also process random samples and laboratory analyses for control before delivery, as well as specific checks for raw density, colours, adhesive residues, foreign plastics, impurities, grain size distribution and residual moisture.” Mikel told us that the Packaging Division has been providing sustainable solutions for the food, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors since 1996. “We work closely with the fruit and vegetable sector on the Mediterranean coast, the Atlantic fishing industry, the Spanish jam and meat industry, the bakery industry through out Europe and a wide range of pharmaceutical and industrial applications. To produce packaging material for these industries EkoRec use Bandera and Reifenhauser machinery. The multilayer sheet lines produce 2,000 kg/h with up to five layers. A third PET sheet line is planned for 2024,” he summarised. There are two more business units under the roof of EkoRec, the Engineering Projects F.l.t.r.: Mikel Urain and Heike Fischer in front of stacked PET bales STF and Sesotec recycling and sorting technology with a production capcity of 15,000 t/a PET sheet production at the EkoRec plant
MATERIALS / RECYCLING 11 PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 & Power Generation. The engineering projects focuss on realising plastic circular economy, water treatment e.g. urban water treatment plants or any project that has to do with general waste recycling. The group has its own office and staff for African EPC operations in Angola. In the power generation area, Mikel leads us into a somewhat deserted-looking part of the factory premises. “True to our environmental responsibility, our combined heat and power plant covers all the electricity and heat needs of our production facilities. In this way, we avoid supply from less environmentally friendly sources and feed our excess electricity into the general grid. The cogeneration plant consists of a cycle combined by two Rolls Royce natural gas engines, developing a power of 5,100KWe plus a 269 kWe condensation Dresser Rand steam turbine. The thermal utilisation of the cogeneration plant is used for the production of: factory steam used in the production of polyester fibre, PET film, PET recycling and operates as district heating for neighboring industries; the hot water for the absorption refrigeration group and the steam for use in the condensing steam turbine.” Impressed by this holistic view of the circular economy, we have to say goodbye to Mikel, to whom we must decline an invitation for lunch with a guilty conscience, as our schedule is pressing. We thank him for his willingness to provide information and his hospitality and wish him every success with EkoRec! www.ekorec.net Two Rolls-Royce natural gas engines developing 5,100 KWe of power and a 269 kWe condensing steam turbine from Dresser Rand.
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 12 Investment in state-of-the-art equipment pays off rPET and preform production under one roof by Heike Fischer From Spain, we passed the Pyrenees and were warmly welcomed in France in Chalonsur-Saône, 135 km north of Lyon, at the SGT & SGR factory site. Our last visit was already six years ago, and a lot has happened since then. The SGR/SGT team looked somewhat surprised and incredulous when we parked the Editour-mobile in the car park and assured them that we were indeed living in it during our road trip. MATERIALS / RECYCLING We met: Jean Marc Wiencek, Factory Manager SGT & SGR, Anthony Dio, SGR Team Leader Fabien Tabart, SGT Production Workshop Manager The SGT and SGR factory is located in Chalon-sur-Saône on 5ha of land in the Saône Or business park. “The location of the site was chosen because of its strategic position since it benefits from a good connection with the road and motorway networks. The 10,000m2 factory for the SGR part has been operational since 2019. In June 2022, the SGT/ SGR has been expanded,“ explained Jean-Marc Wiencek. We asked for some updates since our last meeting in 2016. “In 2016, we put a lot of effort in SGT Algeria Spa. We equipped it with new cap injection presses. In 2017, SGT Algeria was FSSC 22000 certified for its two manufacturing plants in Rouïba and Setif. One year later SGT Algeria inaugurates its third plant dedicated to HDPE caps localised in Setif. In 2018/19, we started the extension of the Rezé site, close to Nantes and commencement of works on the new preforms manufacturing plant and a recycling production unit SGR in Chalon-Sur-Saône, in Saône-et-Loire,” Fabien Tabart, SGT production workshop manager told us. While starting a tour through the new SGR plant, Anthony Dio, SGR Team Leader reported about the PET recycling plant: “For four years, SGT has obtained the European label “MORE” Mobilised to REcycle. Created by the Federation of Plastics and Composites Polyvia, this label awarded manufacturers who incorporate recycled plastic materials in their production. It is saluted our commitment to a circular economy. In addition, in 2022 SGR obtains a favourable opinion from Efsa for its PET bottles recycling process.” He continued: “With SGR we assist our customers with their voluntary commitments to move towards a circular and responsible economy. With the plant we supply superior quality rPET suitable for food contact. From old plastic bottles we manufacture new preforms and therefore new bottles. Thus, SGR offers a second life to used bottles, so they are no longer perceived as waste but as reusable resources. 100% of SGR’s rPET ends up in our preform production. SGR is not selling its rPET externally, only including in customers preform production. We collect or buy crystal and blue-coloured flakes. SGR produces the highest quality of rPET suitable for food contact. By the end of the year 2022 we approximately will have an output of 12,000 t of rPET.” As we walked past the preform machines into the recycling hall, we can see the material flow of the rPET in pipes that are guided along the ceiling. Finally, we arrive at the reycling hall and are greeted by the finest recycling equipment: Bühler-Sortex, Unisensor, Erema Basic extruder (Efsa-Q201900488) and Polymetrix SSP (EfsaQ2020-00129). “When SGR takes delivery of PET flakes, it performs four additional grading processes: optical, metal, colour and material. Everything is meticulously inspected. Our recycling line is at the cutting edge of the latest technologies currently available on the market, enabling us to produce rPET of the highest quality. The site uses a vacuum-assisted Solid State
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 13 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 13 Polycondensation (SSP) technology that guarantees industrial security at all stages of the thermal process and eliminates all remaining impurities on a molecular scale. SGR also has an extruding machine with underwater cutting and an ultra-efficient decontamination system that produces rPET pellets whose visible qualities (transparency and colour), mechanical qualities (viscosity) and organoleptic qualities match those of virgin PET. The whole process requires little consumption of energy. During extrusion, the decontamination reactor makes the PET suitable for food contact. It allows the flakes to melt, to filter them (at 36μm) before leaving them in the form of granules. Our extruder is equipped with an underwater cutting allowing direct crystallisation of the granule. The flow rate of our equipment is 1,500kg/h. The decontamination process takes part on a molecular scale. At this stage, the viscosity index (IV) of the granules obtained is similar to virgin PET. Nitrogen vacuum depression is at 200mbar, the temperature is 200 °C. The residence time of PET granules is about 10 hours. SGR has invested 8 million euros in its decontamination line,” Anthony proudly announced. While walking back we passed the preform production area again. Fabien Tabart, SGT Production Workshop Manager explained us some hard facts on SGT and SGR: “With a workforce of 170 employees in Rezé and 50 employees in Chalon-SurSaône and finally SGT Algeria with 330 employees, we have an overall turnover of €152.7 million for SGT France, €136 million for SGT Algeria and €12 million for SGR. With growth of 5% in each plant, we export about 25% of our production. SGT offers a broad range of more than 270 customisable preforms (from 100ml to 20 l) and seven types of caps and handle in high-density polyethylene (HDPE). The SGT group’s annual production capacity totals 7 billion preforms and 2.8 billion caps. The bestselling preform is the one for the 1.5 l water bottle. 80% of our preform production is sold to the food and beverage (50% water, 25% CSD, dairy drinks 8%, juices 5%) and 20% to the non-food market. We expect the African continent, with its growing population, to achieve significant growth rates in the coming years.” After the factory tour and some interesting conversation, we ask Jean Marc Wiencek for a final statement on the current situation: “Between logistical difficulties, geopolitical instability (Ukraine), the health crisis, plastic bashing and now the energy crisis, we have to face every adversity. The yesterday’s certainties are now replaced by caution. Despite everything, if we had to stay positive, I would say that we are learning to live in an uncertain and increasingly risky environment. That is what we call resilience.” We thank our hosts and climb into the cab of our Editour truck - our journey continues, because communication and information exchange are an important means to overcome any crisis! www.sgt-pet.com
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 14 A conversation with India’s largest private company PET raw material and recyclate from India by Kay Barton December 9, 2022 Reliance Industries Ltd. We met: Mr Bharat B Mehta, Vice President – PET Marketing Mr Rakesh Bali, Senior Vice President, Head Marketing (Petchem) Mr Raghunath Datar, Regional Manager Mr Rajiv Kumar, AVP – PET Marketing Mr Aditya Pahurkar, Manager Sales & Marketing (PET) Mr Shubhang Shanbag, Manager Sales & Marketing (PET) Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is the largest private sector company in India. Founded in 1966, the corporate giant today houses Petchem (petrochemicals), Jio (telecom), Retail (around 15,000 retail outlets), Hydrocarbon Exploration and Production and Refining (petroleum). As of year-end 2022, Reliance became the first Indian company ever to achieve a turnover of more than US$ 100 billion. Petchem business, which includes the plastics division, accounts for about 35% of total sales. In addition to its PET brand “Relpet”, Reliance also produces PP, PE and PVC. The PET material production division, the company points out, is fully integrated thanks to its refining division, as everything from crude oil to finished PET production is carried out under one corporate umbrella. In Mumbai, PETplanet met the Reliance team to discuss the company’s current and future developments in PET. PET material production The meeting point for our discussion was a meeting room at the Reliance Jio Infocomm site in Mumbai’s financial and business district BKC. There, the team led by Senior Vice President & Head of Marketing at Petchem, Mr Rakesh Bali and Vice President for PET Marketing, Bharat B Mehta welcomed us. Mr Mehta began by explaining where the company is headed in the future in terms of PET manufacturing and postconsumer PET bottle recycling: “We currently have a total capacity of manufacturing 1.15 million t/a of virgin food grade PET. The capacity is spread in India and Malaysia, with Indian manufacturing plants in Hazira, Surat which has 350 kt capacity and Dahej, Bharuch with 650 kt. The remaining 150 kt is produced at our plant in Malaysia.” RIL also produces 6 kt/a of food grade rPET under its brand “Relpet green” at Nagothane facility. This puts the company in first place in India for PET production, followed by IVL Dhunseri with 720 kt and JBF with just over 180 kt. A unique pilot project of rPET resin, which is to be commercialised in the later part of 2023, is currently in the test phase: it involves traceability of PET material via integrated markers in finished blown bottles for the purpose of tracking material flows. Bottle and material demand Currently, about 1.2 million tonnes of PET bottles are consumed in a year across India and are expected to grow by 20% by the end of 2022, according to Reliance. Commenting on this, Bharat Mehta said, “Glass prices have gone up by 60% due to which many bottlers have switched to PET bottles, especially in CSD, milk and liquor.” The increasing demand for material is due to the continuing trend towards smaller bottle sizes due to “shrinkflation”, which refers to shrinking the size of the pack to keep the product affordable in times of inflation. He added: “A 2 l bottle uses 54 g of material whereas eight 0.25 l bottles each use 10 g of material, a total of 80 g which results in 26 g more usage.” Post-consumer waste, PET recycling and EPR Things are also happening in the recycling sector. “For PET recycling, we maintain three sites in the states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and MATERIALS / RECYCLING F.l.t.r.: Rakesh Bali, Raghunat Datar, Kay Barton, Bharat B Mehta and Rajiv Kumar Bharat B Metha displays a PET promotional bottle showing the various stages from PET bottle flakes to the company’s “R-Elan” textile yarn
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 15 MATERIALS / RECYCLING 15 Maharashtra,” says Mr Mehta. “With bottle recycling start-ups in Hoshiapur in Punjab and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh in early 2000s, we began to produce synthetic fibres from postconsumer PET bottles. In each of these two locations, bottle bales are recycled into flakes and then into polyester staple fibre (PSF). The capacity is 50 kt and we plan to expand to 80 kt. The plant in Nagothane, Maharashtra, has been producing rPET resin since 2010.” Currently, it is producing 6 kt/a there, but expansion plans in rPET envisage an increase to 35 kt by 2025. This is a logical step, especially against the background of the draft “Food Safety and Standards Packaging (Amendment) Regulations” issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in June 2022. After years of discussion, the draft provides for approval of recycled PET in food contact and is currently being reviewed by The Bureau of Indian Standards. Industry experts expect the finalisation of rPET standards in 2023. India is one of the countries with the highest PET recycling rate. Around 90% collection rate of the aforementioned 1.2 million tonnes of bottles can be recorded in the market. A large part of the bottles is collected by an unorganised sector of waste collectors and taken to collection points and then to recyclers, for which they receive 15-20 rupees per kg of material and often earn their living with it. By means of manual sorting, the bottles are then separated according to colour and foreign materials are removed. Industry is transforming in India as more and more companies and small businesses are coming forward in PET bottle collection business, resulting in reduced share of unorganised sector. “This is also an important part of the much-discussed EPR,” says Mr Rakesh Bali. “Brand owners could hire or at least pay the waste pickers in the long run. EPR also plays a pivotal role for us as a producer. The industry provides direct and indirect employment to over 400,000 people. We are providing technological know-how and guidance to encourage more entrepreneurs to come forward to become part of the industry. www.ril.com (MKMXEP VEXMSREP TVSƤXEFPI ;LEX IPWI# SACMI.COM 300 4VIJSVQ MRWTIGXMSR ERH TVSGIWW IRLERGIQIRX MRGPYHIH DIGITAL (MKMXEP TVSGIWW GSRXVSP VIEGLIW TVIZMSYWP] YRXLMROEFPI PIZIPW STIRMRK YT XLI MRHYWXV] XS -S8 WGIREVMSW RATIONAL 7%'1- 4VIJSVQ :MWMSR 7]WXIQ MRGPYHIH JSV EHZERGIH GSQTVILIRWMZI TVSGIWW GSRXVSP PROFITABLE '330 TSWX GSSPMRK MRWMHI GSSPMRK W]WXIQ WLSVXIRW G]GPI XMQIW ERH PIEHW XS QSVI TVSƤXEFPI TVSHYGXMSR momic
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 16 New site and technology centre for colour and additive development in Singapore Just in mid-January, US colours and functional additives manufacturer Penn Color from Hatfield, Pennsylvania, inaugurated its brand new Technology Center in Singapore to serve customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region. In an interview, company president and CEO Mr Kevin Putman Jr explained what the location is all about and what benefits will be offered to customers from now on. January 16, 2023 Penn Color, Inc. We met: Kevin Putman Jr, President and CEO PETplanet: Penn Color has announced the opening of its new Technology Center in Singapore. What is the purpose of this institution? Kevin Putman Jr: The Technology Center complements the existing technology centres that we have established in the United States and in Europe, bringing together our process and colour technology services with specialist personnel. It is meant to inspire designers, engineers, brand managers, business leaders, converters, equipment OEM manufacturers, suppliers, and other partners and harness their collective creative power and expertise. Here, our customers will be able to condense weeks of development time to days, bringing production-ready products forward faster than ever before. PETplanet: How do you think this Technology Center can make a difference for your customers? Kevin Putman Jr: The facility allows us to bring our products and the Penn Color experience directly to the doorstep of our customers and partners in Asia Pacific to ensure their needs are met. This design studio, like the other two in the US and Europe, is designed to be agile, transparent and dynamic. This means that our teams can develop specific products in the presence of and together with our customers, in a collaborative and engaging setting. PETplanet: Why did you choose Singapore? Kevin Putman Jr: Over the years, as we expanded our company’s capabilities around the world, establishing an innovation presence in Asia became a top priority. When this project was launched, a number of countries were considered as innovation locations for Penn Color in Asia Pacific, but when it came down to it, no country offered the economic stability, access to a talented workforce, proximity to customers, and overall focus on innovation and creativity to the extent that Singapore does. It’s no surprise that many well-known international companies are choosing Singapore as their Asia-Pacific base. PETplanet: What went into the design of the facility itself? Kevin Putman Jr: When it came to designing the Technology Center, I knew we needed a space that not only served a very specific functional purpose, but also exuded comfort, style, and creativity, seamlessly blending people, innovation, architecture, and the elegant aesthetic of Asian hospitality. To design this space, we selected DP Design, a Singapore-based design firm involved in the design of some of the Singapore’s most iconic buildings. To lead the project, we were fortunate to work with Mike Lim, Principal Designer of DP Design, and winner of the Design Excellence and Designer of the Year awards in 2018 and 2019. He and his team did an incredible job, incorporating natural light, tropical elements, and industrial equipment to create a welcoming, comfortable, and inspiring environment. PETplanet: What role do you think the Singapore location will play in Penn Color’s strategy in the near future? Kevin Putman Jr: The new site is dedicated to implementing capabilities that go beyond today’s standards, as well as reinventing colour and additive development. At the same time, it is designed to further solidify Penn Color’s position as a global leader in thermoplastic products, particularly in the packaging and consumer goods markets. PETplanet: Thank you! www.penncolor.com MATERIALS / RECYCLING President & CEO Kevin Putman Jr Clear and inviting architecture awaits customers.
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 17 South Africa’s plastics production & recycling both growing This sum included locally produced and imported virgin material, as well as locally recycled material, which increased its market share from 20.6% to 21.7%. Anton Hanekom, Plastics SA Executive Director, welcomed the growth as indicating that the market and industry are recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Packaging accounted for half of South Africa’s overall plastic consumption. Rigid packaging made up 29%; flexible packaging totalled 21%. Building and construction is the third-largest sector. South Africa is not noted as a ‘packaging powerhouse’, Mr Hanekom observed, while noting that the non-packaging sector is a weakness for the country. Recycling is developing strongly. South Africa recycled 344,527 t of plastics in 2021, which was 10% more than the previous year, but Plastics SA stressed that more needs to be done to support local recyclers and develop the industry. Mr Hanekom called for more products to be designed for recycling; for the systems and infrastructure to be put in place to collect recyclable material early in the solid waste stream; for standards to be developed and adhered to for recycling processes and their product; and for environmental claims to be substantiated. South Africa’s recycling sector is showing strong growth over a sustained period; production has increased by 36% since 2012. The average proportion of recycled content in new products has risen from 14.8% to 16.7% over the same period. However, “New endmarkets for recycled plastics are critical to ensure the industry’s longterm viability,” Mr Hanekom said. Plastics converters were severely strained as the overall economic climate deteriorated in 2021. Recyclers have had to work harder than ever before to find sustainable markets for their materials; only 7.7% of S Africa’s recyclate was exported as raw material to Asian and Southern African Development Community (SADC) plastics converters. “While plastics collection and recycling have improved slightly, we are still not back to pre-Covid year levels recorded in 2019,” he declared. “Although still considerably less than virgin polymers, recycling still consumes a lot of energy. To ensure economic quantities, recyclables must also be transported to reprocessing plants.” Strategic partnerships boost recycling and generate income opportunities Communities across South Africa are responding. More than 40 local, district and provincial municipalities countrywide benefitted from strategic sustainability partnerships in 2021/2, according to PET Plastic Recycling South Africa (Petco), which has been engaging with municipalities on sustainability, waste management and recycling projects for over 17 years. These initiatives also create income opportunities, which are of great value in a country whose unemployment rate exceeded 35% in Q4 2021. They are also helping to develop the circular economy. The Zonda Insila Programme (ZIP), for example, was launched in Breyton, Mpumalanga, about 200 km East of Johannesburg, in 2019. It had only four projects initially but now has 14, supporting 240 community members in another three district municipalities in Mpumalanga. Informal waste picking is a valuable source of income in the area. Petco provides equipment and infrastructure support, buy-back centres and training and skills development for municipal employees involved in waste management. The structure aims to help informal wastepickers into the formal recycling sector, which will bring benefits of steady employment and income. There are significant opportunities. “Currently, there are very few municipal separation-at-source collection systems, so we work with interested municipalities to establish collection projects and expand PET collection into new areas,” said Petco CEO Cheri Scholtz. “This year so far, we have conducted 28 training workshops for 1,357 waste pickers in eight provinces, and a further three accredited business training workshops.” Municipalities across South Africa are required by law to develop Integrated Waste Management Plans (IWMP) in line with the implementation of the National Waste Management Strategy. Drakenstein Municipality, in Western Cape Province, is one of the first municipalities to successfully integrate waste pickers into the formal waste industry at municipal level. “As our Material Recovery Facility [MRF] and Refuse Transfer Station become fully functional in 2022/23, these wastepreneurs will be accommodated. They will be able to increase their production and it will also mean that approximately 50 t less material will reach the landfill site,” said Thys Serfontein, Senior Manager, Solid Waste and Landfill Management at Drakenstein Municipality. In the past year, Petco and its partners diverted 90,402 t of post-consumer PET, equivalent to 2.1 bn bottles, was collected for recycling. This saved 560,495m3 of municipal landfill space. In addition, R1.2 bn (US$ 70 million) was injected into the national economy from the sale of recycled materials. www.petco.co.za www.plasticsinfo.co.za The latest report on South Africa’s plastics manufacturing and recycling industries, published by Plastics South Africa (Plastics SA) at the end of 2022, recorded total growth of 4.7% in 2021. A total of 1,904,924 t of polymer were converted into new plastics products during the year. MATERIALS / RECYCLING
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 18 US PET recycling reaches record levels but more to be done Bob Schiavone from R&D/Leverage, an Adler Co. says that the industry has to raise its game to educate the public and to ensure sufficient and genuine recycling capacity and infrastructure. Bob Schiavone, Global Marketing Communications Director of R&D/Leverage, addressed the issues of public perception of the plastics industry and recycling at the Blow Moulding Conference and Exhibition in Brussels, Belgium, at the end of 2022. At the same time, the USA’s National Association for PET Container Resources (Napcor) published its 2021 PET Recycling Report. It documented the largest amount of postconsumer PET ever collected in the USA and noted a new record for thermoform collection in the USA and Canada. Recycling rates in the USA alone were recorded to have increased to 28.6%; across the whole of North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), the rate rose to 36.8%. Bottle collection in the US exceeded 1.9 bn lbs (862 million kg), with total thermoformed plastic collections in the US and Canada reported to have reached 142 million lbs (64.4 million kg). Schiavone has firm views on recycling, on what he describes as the ‘anti-plastics agenda’ of some lobby groups, and on the industry’s failure to proclaim and spread positive messages about its products and its achievements in collection, reuse and recycling. PET reclaimers in the U.S. and Canada collected and processed 73% of PET thermoforms. For the second year in succession, market consumption of rPET in both food & beverage and non-food & beverage bottles exceeded demand in the fibre market in the USA and Canada. PET collected via deposit redemption schemes increased 46%, compared with 2020, indicating a rebound from the Covid19 downturn and that pandemic-driven disruptions to recycling services are being resolved. The wider North American recycling rate is over the Ellen McArthur Foundation’s 30% threshold, regarded as the postconsumer benchmark for proving that recycling works in practice and at scale. However, in the face of campaigns that deliver more in the way of headlines than solid endeavour and real environmental benefits, the message about the gains the industry has made over the past several decades is not getting across, Schiavone maintains. He ascribes this to the industry’s failure to spend on B2C (business to consumer) communications. While a lot of money is spent on marketing it is primarily B2B (business to business). The environmental message is reaching only the converted, within the plastics industry, which allows misinformation to gain traction in the wider world. The most important audience – the consumers – are not being involved in the debates. “We all understand the industry, we understand the polymers, the science and the processes, so why aren’t people believing us?” he asked. He ran through a brief history of plastics since the 1950s and into the 1960s, when the term ‘reusable plastic’ was abandoned; single use was presented as the hygienic approach. Mixed messages and inconsistency, mountains of trash in landfills and a general failure to ‘walk the talk’ lead to the messenger being viewed with suspicion. A significant part of any message is delivery “I know there are about 20,000 local governments within the US – communities and townships – who used to make money from their recycling; they got income from it. Now, it costs them,” Schiavone said. “What some of these townships have to pay out now is enormous. They are trying to balance their budgets, to pay for schools, policing and so on – the recycling system is really broken.” He says that this failure to practice what is preached makes the job of the anti-plastics lobby very much easier. Some of the opposition bodies are very well funded and have highly skilled marketing strategists and technicians. “Polling has shown that consumers want to know what the industry is doing about the problem. Polling showed that, back in the 1990s and 2000s, when we spent money talking to consumers, they had a much more favourable opinion of plastics,” he said. “Now, Hollywood doesn’t want to show any more single-use plastics on any of their movies or television shows. If you’re in packaging design you’ll get a special award if you can show how you’ve eliminated plastics in your design. In national parks throughout the US all single-use plastics have been banned from being sold. I see anti-plastics groups making headway in creating laws and taxes here in Belgium.” Belgium used to be known for some of the best recycling rates in the world and it still has but that message is being lost. The plastics industry has to stand up for itself. “The American Beverage council is doing a really good job of ‘bring every MATERIALS / RECYCLING Robert Schiavone, Global Marketing Director, R&D/Leverage during his presentation on ‘Plastics – The Battle of Perception’
MATERIALS / RECYCLING PETplanet Insider Vol. 24 No. 01+02/23 www.petpla.net 19 bottle back’ but – I’ve lost count – over 50 different articles saying plastics can’t be recycled into new bottles. That’s a lie,” he declared. “I heard about some great innovations today but how much of it will matter if the consumer doesn’t believe you? I have no problem with support and investment in recycling. I think that it’s good idea for us to volunteer and help clean up the oceans and streamline refined plastics usage. viscoZERO – processing PP, PE, PET & PS! ZERO contamination. ZERO odour. ZERO limits. foodgrade without compromise viscoZERO Upgrade your existing recycling plant with viscoZERO technology. North American rates on rPET usage and PET bottle collection (source: Napcor) “But we have to find a way to show the world our efforts in these areas and to do it, we need a marketing campaign, which needs funding, it needs direction, it has to talk about the facts. But you can’t do one of these things and not the others; they have to be done in unison. If we don’t do this, the anti-plastic messaging is going to continue,” Schiavone declared. “I’ve heard today about new plastics or new processes and it’s going to change the world – but if you don’t include the consumer, will any of that matter? If we can at least improve consumer perception it will affect our bottom lines. If you’re doing anything that’s helping improve the process, think about how you involve the consumer. Share the facts, on your company website, on social media – there’s a lot of good information out there, that we should be sharing.” www.napcor.com www.rdleverage.com
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