New European platform for PET bottle recycling

Archiv – Belgium | Several European plastics organisations have joined in launching the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP), a Brussels-based initiative that will aim to offer a service to the packaging industry by assessing new PET bottle formats entering the European plastics recycling stream. This front-end evaluation process is expected to assist the move towards a more sustainable PET recycling industry in Europe. Belgium | Several European plastics organisations have joined in launching the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP), a Brussels-based initiative that will aim to offer a service to the packaging industry by assessing new PET bottle formats entering the European plastics recycling stream. This front-end evaluation process is expected to assist the move towards a more sustainable PET recycling industry in Europe.
The EPBP consists of a number of technical experts in the field of PET production, design and recycling; together, they aim to provide an objective evaluation of new technologies and an independent assessment of their impact on PET recycling processes across Europe. The main objective is to evaluate technologies/products and to enable new PET bottle innovations while optimising the economic and environmental consequences for the European PET recycling industry. The Platform has established several test procedures to assess the recycling profile of new packaging technologies such as barriers, additives, closures and labels; products that pass the tests should not experience any problems during recycling.
The EPBP will promote PET bottle recycling by: establishing European harmonised guidelines for the recyclability of PET bottles; encouraging industry to test new PET bottle concepts and/or materials before market launch according to the harmonised guidelines; giving advice and recommendations to the different stakeholders; and sharing information and knowledge across the whole value chain.
The EPBP includes the Alliance for plastic Beverage Containers sustainability (ABC), the European Association of Plastic Recycling & Recovery Organisations (EPRO), European Plastics Recyclers (EuPR) and PET containers recycling Europe (Petcore).