Packaging and Petco’s EPR schemes
Information on the packaging that you can collect and sell
Know your recyclables
Part of Petco’s job is to ensure that collectors – waste pickers, buy-back centres, co-operatives, SMMEs, and waste management companies – are supported and empowered. This involves informing role players because the more informed and empowered the role-players are, the more recycling is able to advance in our country.
As a Producer Responsibility Organisation, Petco oversees schemes for our member organisations, who pay us to see that certain identified products are collected and recycled. The products we currently focus on are PET bottles and jars (and their caps and labels) and liquid board packing (LBP), also known as Tetra Pak®.
Learn what these materials are, and why they’re so valuable to recyclers.
What is PET?
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is a plastic used to make bottles for soft drinks like Pepsi, Twizza and Coca-Cola, bottled water, milk, juice, sports and energy drinks. It is used to make jars for food items like peanut butter, salad dressing and mayonnaise; and bottles for household, personal care and pharmaceutical products, like dishwashing liquid and mouthwash.
(PET is also used to make punnets, tubs and trays for food items, as well as sheet and film for general packaging, and polyester fibre for clothing and household textiles.)
PET is valuable because the clear and light blue plastic can be recycled back into bottles again and again. One way to tell if it’s PET is to look for the number 1, usually stamped at the bottom of the plastic packaging.
PET bottles can be recycled with their lids and labels, which are made from other types of plastic. These parts are important too, so keep them on and don’t throw them away.
Find out more about the component parts below.
What is rPET used for?
rPET means recycled PET. It is useful and can be made into brand new PET packaging like bottles and jars, as well as clothing, car mats, geotextiles, hair pieces, fibrefill for jackets and duvets, strapping for the packaging industry and broom bristles.
What not to collect
• Bottles made with opaque (white) or solid colour PET e.g. dark blue or pink.
• PET bottles with PET/PVC shrink sleeves. Shrink sleeves tightly cover the whole bottle from top to bottom and sometimes just the cap area. They make a PET bottle unrecyclable.
• PET bottles with a metal cap.
• Bottles that have ink printed directly onto them.
How is PET recycled?
The PET recycling process is robust and efficient. It typically comprises eight stages:
- Collection
PET plastic bottles and jars are gathered from households, public spaces, drop-off sites or landfills. - Transportation
The bottles are separated by colour and sold to buy-back centres, where they are baled, or they go directly to recyclers, otherwise known as reprocessors. - De-baling
Collected PET bales are unbundled from their bales. - Sorting
Non-PET material is removed prior to flaking. - Flaking
The bottles, as well as their labels and caps, are then shredded into flakes. - Washing
The PET flakes now undergo a thorough cleaning to remove impurities and contaminants. During this process, other plastics – the caps and labels – separate from the PET plastic, to be reprocessed into other products. - Drying
The washed PET flakes are dried to eliminate moisture content. - Extrusion and pelletisation
The dried flakes are melted and formed into small pellets. - Manufacturing: Bottle-to-Bottle
Recycled PET pellets are used to make PET packaging again. - Manufacturing: Bottle-to-Fibre
During processing to make textiles, the melted PET is made into threads to make polyester fibre, which becomes items like clothing and car mats.
What is LBP?
Liquid board packaging (LBP), otherwise known as cartons or Tetra Pak®, refers to liquid board cartons used to package products such as juice, custard and milk. These cartons are composed of a mix of materials, primarily paperboard, along with thin layers of plastic and aluminium (polyAl), which protect the carton’s contents from light, oxygen and moisture.
What are the recycled layers of LBP used to make?
Paper manufacturers use the long paper fibre from used liquid board cartons to manufacture new paper and carton products, while the polyAl layers are recycled into products such as plastic pallets, milk crates, clothes hangers, outdoor furniture, school desks, car parts and building materials.
How is LBP recycled?
Collection
The liquid board recycling process starts with collection, sorting and baling.
Transportation
The baled LBP is transported to recyclers.
Pulping
Bales of liquid board cartons are fed into a hydro-pulper, a large blender that separates the paper fibre from the polyAl, using water.
Separation
The lids are separated from the polyAl.
Screening
The pulp is then screened to remove any unwanted materials, such as plastic or metal, and cleaned to remove any residual contaminants.
Paper
The paper fibres are cleaned, pressed and dried. They are then formed into paper rolls, to be made into paper towels or cardboard packaging.
PolyAl
The polyAl components are extracted together and formed into granules. The granules can then be turned into various products such as pallets or roof tiles.
Join Petco
We take Extended Producer Responsibility on behalf of our members on a collective basis, helping them to meet legislated and corporate targets. We go beyond policy, creating real value and leading the way to a circular economy.