Most of us have become accustomed to a ‘take, make, consume, and dispose of’ way of life, but it is not sustainable. Consumers have become more conscientious, and Extended Producer Responsibility legislation has helped – but are producers (brand owners, retailers and importers) equipped with the right guidelines to promote on-shelf visibility AND maximum recyclability of their product packaging?

Not always – and small overlooked details can scupper the recyclability of an item of packaging, relegating tons of valuable PET and liquid board packaging (LBP) to landfills.

Packaging producers, i.e. brand owners, retailers and importers, hold the reins and, with the right guidance, can do so much more to boost our collection and recycling efforts in South Africa.

Leading producer responsibility means sharing Petco’s industry knowledge gained over the past two decades and using it to inform and advance the collection and recycling of all materials for which we administer an EPR scheme.

That’s why we have revised our Packaging Design Guidelines to now include both PET and LBP and their associated labels and closures.

Here’s a brief summary that explains in more detail exactly what to do and not to do in your design of PET packaging and liquid board packaging.

PET: The basic do and don’ts

DO

Consider the specifics of the recycling process before you design a package. Some materials, for instance, are extremely difficult to separate from the PET during recycling, and may render the whole item non-recyclable.

• Design components, such as closures and labels, are to be easily separated and eliminated from the PET during the recycling process.
• Opt for clear or light blue PET bottles. Brown and green bottles can be recycled, but their value is far lower than the clear and light blue bottles, and therefore may not be collected, so that they end up as litter or in landfills.
• Make sure that any adhesives used in labels are soluble at 60–80°C. For self-adhesive labels, use glue designed to separate from the PET flakes and stay on the label, rather than the plastic, during washing.
• Try to increase the use of rPET. As a global commodity, in some instances it is more expensive than virgin PET. However, the inclusion of recycled content is stipulated in the EPR regulations, which will help to create an end-use demand for rPET. Without demand, there would be no pull-through of the material through the value chain, and there would be no incentive for collection of the material to kickstart the process.
• Show the product identification code (PIC) clearly on the package so that collectors and recyclers can identify the material.

DON’T

• Don’t print directly onto PET plastic – the ink renders the item non-recyclable. No metallic inks!
• Don’t use metal caps. These are too difficult to remove at scale and cause the machinery at the recycling plant to pick up the metal as a contaminant, resulting in the whole bottle being rejected from the recycling stream. This means that the machinery has to stop, which causes delays in processing time. If a metal closure happens to slip through, it can contaminate the PET, or even worse, damage the processing machinery.
• Avoid PET or paper sleeves and labels with PET packaging. Rather opt for polyolefins, as this more easily separates from the bottle during washing.
• Avoid certain additives to PET. For example, adding masterbatch to PET to give it a white appearance will render the bottle unrecyclable. Nucleating and hazing agents, colours, oxygen scavengers and elements added for technical effects can muddy the plastic recycling stream. These additives often (not always) cause PET to discolour and/or haze and really should be avoided, unless means are available to negate their effect.
• Don’t use a combination of plastics with the same density in one item. What we want is for lids and labels to float to the surface during washing – therefore use polymers with differing densities for these items, such as polyolefins [polypropylene (PP), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), or low-density polyethylene (LDPE)].
• Don’t use PVC. Because it’s similar in appearance and density to PET, this makes the two polymers difficult to separate, often resulting in PVC contamination. Don’t use PETG1 (PET with glycol added). It creates similar challenges to PVC, especially given its lower melting temperature to PET, which renders it a contaminant.
• Avoid, where possible, the use of external coatings (such as O2 or CO2 barriers) that can cause recycling issues. If absolutely necessary to use a barrier, it should flake off the PET, and be efficiently removable during granulation. We recommend that you submit such designs to a recycler in South Africa to ensure its compatibility with local infrastructure before releasing onto the market!

Bottom line: Design PET containers with the environment, the collection  process, and the available recycling infrastructure in South Africa in mind.

Liquid board packaging: The basic do’s and don’ts

LBP is recyclable where wide-scale infrastructure and collection systems exist and Petco now oversees its inclusion in the collection and recycling value chain.

DO’S AND DON’TS

• Use offset printing with vegetable oil-based ink: As used in Flexo-SB, Flexo-Wb, Gravure-SB, and Gravure-Wb printing, it is fully compatible with recycling, while offset printing with mineral-oil based ink, despite being fully recyclable, limits the use of recovered fibre to non-food applications.
• Avoid excessive ink coverage, as heavily inked papers can interrupt production. In addition, heavily inked paper can only be recycled into lower grade paper.
• Use water soluble and hot melt adhesives (with softening temperatures ≥68°C) and avoid water insoluble, re-dispersing adhesives, Latex, and hotmelt adhesives (≤68°C), which clog up the recycling process.
• Use polyethylene caps, not so-called biodegradable or compostable caps that are not compatible with the polyolefin recycling process.
• Avoid excessive use of wet-strength additives. Paper with less wet-strength requires less pulping time, lower pulping temperatures, and reduced chemical usage resulting in more efficient processing.

Manufacturers who design with the circular economy in mind boost the entire recycling sector, which now forms such an integral part of job creation and keeping our planet clean.

DOWNLOAD THE GUIDELINES