Bottle-to-bottle recycling

Over the last years, PET bottle-to-bottle recycling increased highly over the last years.

Today, many technology suppliers provide recycling machinery able to produce food contact approved rPET. Sophisticated decontamination processes allow decontamination levels of virgin PET.

A market survey gives an overview of global suppliers of bottle-to-bottle recycling plants for food grade PET in the scope of bottle-to-flakes, flakes-to-granulate and bottle-to granulate processes. Some of the suppliers offer the complete scope.

Company	Process	Contact	Input	Output (with approval)	Capacity (t/a)	Floor Space (m²)	Approvals	Fresh water consumption m³/per t output))	kWh consumption (kWh/ per t output)
Starlinger & Co. Ges.m.b.H., Austria	Bottle-to-Granulate	Elfriede Hell	recoSTAR PET (4 models) / Engineering of washing lines and/or a turn-key project with available components	Yes (deconta-minated for food-contact, IV increased, AA < 1ppm, lowest VOC level)	6,000 - 26,000	Depending on design	USA/FDA (C-H), Austria, Germany/BfR, Ilsi, France/AFFSSA, Finland, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Japan, Switzerland, Latin American Countries; follows EFSA requirements; brand owners	Depending on design	Depending on design
Starlinger & Co. Ges.m.b.H., Austria	Flakes-to-Granulate	Elfriede Hell	recoSTAR PET (4 models) / Engineering of washing lines and/or a turn-key project with available components	Yes decontaminated for food-contact IV increased AA < 1ppm, lowest VOC level	1,500 - 26,000	130 - 540	USA/FDA (C-H), Austria, Germany/BfR, Ilsi, France/AFFSSA, Finland, Australia, Canada, Egypt, Japan, Switzerland, Latin American Countries; follows EFSA requirements; brand owners	Approx. 0,15	Approx. 410 (Depending on design)
Starlinger & Co. Ges.m.b.H., Austria	Bottle-to-Flakes	Elfriede Hell	recoSTAR PET (4 models) / Engineering of washing lines and/or a turn-key project with available components	Yes (deconta-minated for food-contact, IV increased, AA < 1ppm, lowest VOC level)	3,700 - 10,500	Approx. 150	FDA (hot-fill), follows EFSA requirements		120 - 250 (incl. bottle washing to SSP)
Amut S.p.A., Italy	Bottle-to-Granulate	Piergianni Milani	Yes		3,000 - 45,000	Depending on size and stream quality		Depending on stream quality	300 - 600
Amut, Italy	Flakes-to-Granulate	Piergianni Milani	Yes		3,000 - 15,000	Depending on size and stream quality		0,5	Depending on design
Amut, Italy	Bottle-to-Flakes	Piergianni Milani	Pre-sorting systems and de-labellors available		3,600 - 45,000	Depending on size an stream quality		1	250 - 300
Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H., Austria	Bottle-to-Granulate	Christoph Wöss	Yes, in cooperation with long-time partners
Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H., Austria	Flakes-to-Granulate	Christoph Wöss	Basic flake specifications: Higher contamination can influence pellet quality but basically possible to process, after discussion and agreed by Erema		32,000	Depending on throughput and technology: 8 - 200	FDA [cat. A-H&J]; efsa (postive opinion issued); brand owners (conf.);several national approvals (Austria, CH, Zona Mercursur, etc.)	Depending on application and technology. Closed loop system	250 - 350
Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen Ges.m.b.H., Austria	Bottle-to-Flakes	Christoph Wöss	Yes, in cooperation with long-time partners	FDA [cat. A-H&J]; efsa (postive opinion issued); with Multi Purpose Reactor (MPR)	15,000	20 - 40	FDA, EFSA (Positive opinion issued)	Closed loop system	100
Gneuss Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Germany	Bottle-to-Granulate		Engineering of washing lines with long term partners	Yes	up to 17,000		FDA, ESFA (pending), INTI, brand owners (conf.)	Depending on bottle contamination	Depending on input material
Gneuss Kunststofftechnik GmbH, Germany	Flakes-to-Granulate			FDA, ESFA (pending), brand owners (conf.)	200 - 17,000	30 - 80, depending on size	FDA, ESFA (pending), INTI, brand owners (conf.)	no fresh water needed	< 350
Krones AG, Germany	Bottle-to-Granulate	Peter Hartel		Yes	3,400 - 30,000	1,000 - 6,000	FDA - LNO / EFSA - LNO
Krones AG, Germany	Flakes-to-Granulate	Peter Hartel		Yes	3,400 - 30,000	800 - 3,000	FDA - LNO / EFSA - LNO
Krones AG, Germany	Bottle-to-Flakes	Peter Hartel		With/without approval	3,400 - 30,000	1,000 - 4,000	FDA - LNO / EFSA - LNO
Polymetrix, Switzerland	Bottle-to-Granulate	Karl Schöpf			up to 24,000	5,000	FDA, EFSA, Brand owner	2.15	580 KWh, 590kg steam
Polymetrix, Switzerland	Flakes-to-Granulate	Karl Schöpf			12,000 ‐ 50,000	400 ‐ 600	FDA, EFSA, Brand owner	0.15	290
Polymetrix, Switzerland	Bottle-to-Flakes	Karl Schöpf			24.000	4,500		2	290
Zheijiang Boretech Co., Ltd., China	Flakes-to Granulate	Alan Ou	Collected pressed bottles, various colours	Granulate with approval
Zheijiang Boretech Co., Ltd., China	Bottle-to-Flakes	Alan Ou	Collected pressed bottles, various colours	Flakes with/without approval	3,000 - 39,600	600 - 2,000	150 - 180
Sorema Division of Previero N. Srl	Bottle-to-Flakes	Dario Previero			5,000 - 45,000	800 - 5,000		1 - 3	0,22 - 027
Phoenix Technologies USA	Flakes-to-Granulate	Lori Carson	LNO, yes, PVC <50ppm	Yes	'38, total plant capacity, 9K ton of LNO installed, with additions available of 9K ton	1,000	FDA, Health Canada, EFSA	Trace	660
Tecnofer Ecoimpianti, Italy	Bottle-to-Flakes	Mauro Garbellini			3,000 - 25,000	500 - 1,500		1,5 - 3	280-320