EPBP
From WikiPETia.info
| EPBP | |
|---|---|
| Website | www.epbp.org |
Company Profile
EPBP (European PET Bottle Platform ) is a voluntary initiative that provides PET bottle design guidelines for recycling, evaluates PET bottle packaging solutions and technologies and facilitates understanding of the effects of new PET bottle innovations on recycling processes.
The initiative fully supports a circular economy for the European PET value chain, supported by the Natural Mineral Waters Europe (NMWE), Petcore Europe and the European non-alcoholic beverages association (UNESDA). EPBP's mission is to determine the effect of new PET bottles and additives on the quality and the sustainability of the recovered PET flake for recycling.
The EPBP Platform consists of technical experts in PET production, design and recycling. The only objective of these experts is the evaluation of new technologies and providing an independent and confidential assessment of their impact on the PET recycling processes across Europe.
EPBP has established several test procedures in order to assess the impact on recycling of new packaging technologies. Products that pass the tests should not cause any problems during recycling.
Test Results
The European PET Bottle Platform has assessed the impact of several innovations on the PET recycling stream. These assessments are based upon tests carried out according to the EPBP testing protocol.
The applicants must demonstrate that materials and/or components used in PET bottles can be recycled safely and economically, while using existing recycling technologies and processes by eliminating or significantly reducing materials that may impede recycling without affecting the yield or the quality of the recycled PET.
Design Guidelines
The objective of the Design for Recycling Guidelines for PET bottles is to encourage packaging designers, converters and users to integrate certain criteria during the development phase of a new product in order to facilitate PET recycling. Decisions made early in the design process can ultimately affect the potential to recycle PET bottles back into high-end applications such as bottles. The ease to separate and recycle PET bottles can be compromised by many factors. That includes the choice of bottle colour, barrier systems, use of additives, closures composition and labels.
The Design for Recycling Guidelines for PET bottles are based on the requirements for mechanical recycling of post-consumer PET bottles into applications such as bottles, film, sheet, strapping and fibres. Mechanical recycling is the re-melting and transformation of waste materials into new recycled products without changing the basic chemical structure of the processed material.
EPBP recommends the following principles of the Design for Recycling Guidelines:
- Avoidance of materials and/or components known to impede the PET recycling process or reduce the quality of the recycled PET
- Reduction of the amount of non-PET components to allow for ease of separation and efficiency of recycling.
- Design of components such as closures and labels that they can easily, safely, cost-effectively and rapidly be separated and eliminated from the recycled PET
- Improving the recyclability of PET bottles cannot compromise product safety.
Products
History
References
PETplanet Insider Articles
Issue 10 / 2023: EPBP launches design guidelines for recyclability for ‘food grade’ opaque white PET bottles
