You are here: interpack Magazine. Packaging sustainably.

Articles

PETCYCLE: Ecological Packaging System

View large image in photo gallery

According to a current study carried out by the Ifeu Institute for Energy and Environmental Research PETCYCLE’s recyclable plastics bottle has risen to a new ecological level boasting an ecological footprint that is no longer inferior to that of returnable glass bottles.

The Ifeu Institute headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany, was commissioned to examine returnable PET, non-returnable PET bottles and PETCYCLE systems in various versions and bottle sizes. The complete lifecycle of each bottle was assessed with the conclusion that the key factors for achieving a successful ecological footprint are primarily short distances in regional distribution systems, energy-efficient filling and a closed-loop material cycle.
PETCYCLE bottles are considered single use bottles since they are only filled once. By contrast to conventional single use systems, however, their material cycle has also been optimised so that they are exclusively distributed in returnable crates with a high return rate. Clean-grade recycling ensures reuse of the waste material in new PET bottles (bottle-to-bottle recycling); each bottle is made of 50 % recycled PET. The result of the ecological assessment is essentially that PETCYCLE is an ecologically favourable packaging system and is therefore seen on a par with returnable glass containers. This is also confirmed by the almost simultaneous ecological assessment by "IK Kunststoffverpackungen" which found that single use PET bottles are no longer inferior to returnable glass bottles in ecological terms.

The study

Beverage packaging for water and carbonated refreshments has recently been subject to a wide variety of eco-assessment related considerations - with relevant consequences affecting both policy-making and public opinion concerning the various packaging systems. Against this background PETCYCLE GmbH had the ecological impact of PETCYCLE bottles gauged with the help of an ISO-compliant assessment. The studies focused primarily on the technical progress made in the beverage industry, the ecological and innovative further developments in beverage packaging, an updated database and changing consumer behaviour. The aim was an ecological comparison of PETCYCLE bottles with other relevant packaging systems for carbonated drinks in the storage market segment, i.e. bottles with a minimum filling volume of 0.7 l. To this end the study compared various returnable glass and PET systems as well as several single use PET systems in terms of their environmental impact. Nine impact categories were considered including climate change, fossil fuel resource consumption, human toxicity, fine particles PM 10, terrestrial and aquatic eutrophication and land use.

The result: the 1.0 l PETCYCLE bottle, accounting for 81 % of all fillings by PETCYCLE GmbH and therefore the most important product, boasts an eco-footprint comparable to that of a 0.7 l returnable glass bottle. The 1.5 l PETCYCLE bottle is even more advantageous in eco footprint terms although it plays only a secondary role accounting for as little as 15 % of all fillings.
Another objective was to assess the improvement potential of PETCYCLE bottles. To this end the 1.0 l PETCYCLE bottle was examined in terms of its packaging specifications - i.e. weight, use of recyclates etc. - as well as its process data. This included the pre-form production, the stretch blow-moulding process and filling. It was found that packaging design and process engineering hold potential for optimisation. This optimisation potential might lead to a further improvement of the eco footprint results of the non-returnable PET bottles under review. This includes a potential reduction in the climate change indicator and another resulting from an increase in the proportion of PET used in the bottle body to 65 %. The other impact categories also showed a further potential for reduction.

PETCYCLE celebrates its 10th anniversary

PETCYCLE GmbH was founded in 1999 and launched the returnable pool crate system with ecological recycling of PET bottles on the market. Today the system is synonymous with as good as new PET beverage packaging based on resource-saving recycling of used bottles in a closed-loop material cycle. By company accounts some ten billion bottles in roughly 40 million pool crates have been circulating over the past ten years. Almost 100 % of the bottles return to the filling plant, they say.

Summing up, Arnold Wolters, CEO of PETCYCLE GmbH, says: "PETCYCLE is an ecologically favourable paclkaging system. Catching up with returnable glass containers as a point of reference represents many years’ efforts and a success story for each individual company within the group. This shows that a clear yes to environmental compatibility can also prove efficient for small and medium-sized firms and demonstrates the enormous innovative power of SMEs."