PET-to-PET significantly increases capacities for food-grade rPET

“It is also thanks to the new Starlinger pelletizing line that PET to PET is one of the most modern facilities in PET recycling worldwide. Since the foundation of the company we ensure that PET bottles in Austria are continuously recycled in a resource-saving way, contributing significantly to the circular economy in the country” comments PET to PET General Manager Christian Strasser on the capacity increase.

PET to PET Recycling Österreich GmbH recycled around 1.13 billion PET bottles (equals more than 28,200 tons of PET material) in 2020, also due to the newly installed capacities. The company was able to increase throughput by 7.3 % despite the COVID-19 pandemic with subsequent lockdowns and the price decline for virgin PET resin.

The recoSTAR PET 165 HC iV+ bottle-to-bottle recycling system is the second line from Starlinger in operation at PET to PET. It has a throughput of 1,800 kg/h and achieves excellent decontamination results. The produced regranulate can replace virgin PET at a rate of 100 %. “The high quality of the recyclate is especially important to us. The Austrian beverage industry is continually increasing the share of recycled content in new PET packaging. Some of the producers even use bottles made of 100 % secondary raw material”, Christian Strasser explains.

The solid state polycondensation in the viscoSTAR 180 SSP reactor at the end of the recycling process is decisive for decontamination. It restores the mechanical characteristics of the recycled PET and increases the intrinsic viscosity to the level of virgin material. The PET recyclate is now food-safe and can be used for food packaging such as beverage bottles. More than 50 positive EFSA opinions, the US FDA as well as numerous brand owners in the food industry confirm the extraordinary decontamination results of the Starlinger iV+ process.