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Concept
PET bottle recycling
Résumé
Although PET is used in several applications, (principally textile fibres for apparel and upholstery, bottles and other rigid packaging, flexible packaging and electrical and electronic goods), as of 2022 only bottles are collected at a substantial scale. The main motivations have been either cost reduction (when oil prices spike) or recycle content of retail goods (driven by regulations or public opinion). An increasing amount is recycled back into bottles, the rest goes into fibres, film, thermoformed packaging and strapping.
After sorting, cleaning and grinding, 'bottle flake' is obtained, which is then processed by either:
'basic' or 'physical' recycling. Bottle flake is melted into its new shape directly with basic changes in its physical properties.
'chemical' or 'advanced' recycle. Bottle flake (or possibly a less pure feedstock) is partially or totally depolymerized then enabling purification. The resulting oligomers or monomers are repolymerized to PET polymer, which is then processed in the same way as virgin polymer.
In either case, the resulting feedstock is known as "r-PET" or "RPET".
A wide range of drinks, food products and other consumer goods are bottled in PET. The majority of bottles contain water or soft drinks, both still and carbonated. Other goods bottled in PET include edible oil, vinegar, milk, and shampoo. PET bottles are closed with polyolefin screw closure with antitamper ring, and have a label which may be printed on paper or plastic and may be glued on.
The resin may be colourless or tinted blue, green or brown, or pigmented white.
The empty PET packaging is discarded by the consumer, after use and becomes PET waste. In the recycling industry, this is referred to as "post-consumer PET." All types of PET packaging, including bottles are usually marked with the recycle symbol 1.
There are essentially three different collection systems:
Deposit: some countries have legislated a deposit for packaging including PET bottles. In the EU, deposit schemes average an 86% recovery rate.
Source officielle
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