Many people today have started to understand the increasingly dangerous impact of plastic waste on the environment. It’s slow, but we are realizing the need for sustainable alternatives to plastic.
The good news is that scientists and inventors are continuously working on a solution to the plastic problem, leading to the development of RPET plastic. But what exactly is RPET? Read the rest of the article to understand RPET and how it revolutionizes sustainability.
What Is RPET?
To put it simply, RPET is a type of plastic, a raw material with numerous applications. You will usually find RPET as a fabric, but without a doubt, it is plastic. RPET is an acronym that means “recycled polyethylene terephthalate.”
As it suggests, this plastic is recycled from post-consumer waste, largely from thrown PET bottles. Being recycled, RPET provides a number of benefits that make it an excellent alternative to ordinary plastics.
Such environmental benefits make recycled PET plastic highly widespread in the manufacturing industry. RPET is deemed a key contributor to a more sustainable future by lessening our need to depend on virgin plastics.
RPET has been around since the 1990s. As you would expect, it was developed to be part of the possible solutions to the plastic waste that is currently still a problem in America. One of the first instances of recycled PET bottles was recycled polyester fleece by a fabric manufacturer in 1993.
Back in the 90s, it was entirely a novel idea to recycle plastic and turn it into recycled polyester. But since then, the technology and methods used to recycle plastic bottles have improved a lot that the resulting materials are so much better when it comes to quality.
Polyethylene Terephthalate
Before we talk about RPET, it helps to know more about the most common type of plastic, also known as polyethylene terephthalate (PET). PET is used in almost anything—water bottles, shopping bags, caRPETs, clothing, and more.
Seeing as it is used in a lot of things, you can expect that the consumption of this plastic worldwide is astounding. In 2020, the demand for polyethylene terephthalate reached up to 27 million metric tons across different industries.
PET is useful for its rigidity, strength, and longevity, which are why it’s particularly useful in various applications. The problem, however, is it has many environmental downsides. One of which is the limited resources used to make the plastic.
Production
The raw materials for PET are natural gas and crude oil. Besides being limited resources, they are non-renewable materials and are known to be harmful to the environment. Production of PET not only consumes too much energy and water, but also releases greenhouse gasses.
Recycling
PET plastic is non-biodegradable. But it can be recycled through chemical or mechanical means. Through recycling, it is possible to reduce PET’s impact on the environment and save resources as well. RPET is a type of plastic recycled from polyethylene terephthalate via mechanical recycling.
Many PET plastics are not recycled, ending up in incinerators, landfills, or the ocean. All these plastics take a long time to decompose, sometimes up to 1000 years. The environmental impact of this plastic does not end here. It can also release toxins and microplastics into surroundings, which can cause hormone imbalance and other health problems.
RPET Plastic as a Sustainable Alternative
RPET is a 100% recyclable material. It is usually made from PET plastic bottles, going through a recycling process to transform it into a new item or product. There are many benefits to RPET, including the fact it has many different applications.
Both PET and RPET are recyclable. However, you cannot recycle them indefinitely. It is said that you can only recycle PET plastic up to 10 times before the material loses its quality, durability, and performance. Same with RPET.
Each time you recycle PET or RPET, it degenerates and the resulting products become lower-quality than the earlier recycled materials. The good news is even after over 10 times of recycling, you can still use the plastic for other things, such as clothing.
Between the two, however, RPET is a much better choice in terms of sustainability. It has plenty of benefits that contribute to a positive environment, such as not exhausting our already limited resources. We’ll talk more about these benefits later in the article.
For now, let’s talk about the RPET production process.
RPET Production Process
Here is a brief explanation of the production process of RPET:
Collection and Sorting of Post-Consumer PET
RPET is made by first collecting PET bottles and other plastics from landfills and other locations. The production process involves picking or sorting the right plastics, which are then cleaned and shredded into tiny pieces.
The PET bottles transformed into RPET are gathered through collect, deposit, and bring methods. The deposit system is one of the most successful systems for amassing PET bottles, especially in Germany which has over 98% return rate.
With the deposit system, governments have put in legislation where you pay a deposit and the drink’s actual cost. You can get your money back when you return the bottles, encouraging many people to recycle.
Cleaning and Processing Methods
Upon collecting the PET bottles, they will be sent to the PET washers to be cleaned and shredded. This results in bottle flakes, the material that will be used for the next step of manufacturing RPET plastic.
The next step involves melting the flakes, thus changing their shape. In this process, the flake will be depolymerized (partial or full), followed by purification. This will result in monomers or oligomers that are once again polymerized.
The new polymer will then be processed in the same method that virgin polymers are processed. The resultant material from all these processes is the “recycled polyethylene terephthalate” or RPET/RPET.
Environmental Benefits of RPET
What makes RPET a better choice over traditional plastic? There are several advantages to RPET, positive contributions to businesses and individuals’ sustainability efforts. Here are some of the environmental benefits of recycled polyethylene terephthalate:
Reduce Resource Consumption
We’ve mentioned before that RPET is a sustainable alternative. And it is, thanks to helping reduce energy consumption. With RPET being recycled PET bottles, the demand for virgin plastics is reduced. RPET lessens the need to extract and process new raw materials by using already-used plastics and transforming them into new materials or products.
Reduce Waste Accumulation
With RPET, PET bottles don’t end up in oceans and landfills. Collecting plastics to turn them into RPET effectively lessens waste buildup. Unlike PET and other plastics, you produce RPET using already used materials like plastic bottles and packaging. This not only diminishes the collection of waste but saves and conserves resources as well.
Lower Carbon Emissions
Producing RPET doesn’t emit as much greenhouse gasses as producing virgin plastics. This means that recycling PET bottles and packaging is an excellent way of lowering carbon footprint. This is great for governments’ sustainability goals, certainly one of the best ways to combat climate change.
Mitigating Landfill Impact
As mentioned, RPET helps lessen waste production by collecting plastic waste so they don’t end up in landfills instead. This means less stress on waste management which, in turn, means reduced negative impact of plastic decomposition on the environment. The positive influence of gathering PET bottles to recycle them is certainly widespread.
Greater Consumer Awareness
Adopting RPET is a great way to spread information and foster awareness about the negative impact of plastics. It helps consumers realize how their choices can affect the environment. If more and more people choose RPET products and items, more and more people will also choose sustainable solutions.
Higher Durability
Virgin plastics are already durable but RPET is even more so. Since RPET products are made from recycled PET bottles and other plastics, they are much stronger. They are also more resistant to heat compared to others. This trait makes them an excellent material for producing goods and products intended to be used heavily or in extreme temperatures.
Applications of RPET Plastic
RPET can be used in a lot of ways and so many products and goods today are made from this material. It is especially useful in the packaging industry, which is known for its environmental issues regarding plastic labels and packaging.
Before we talk about the different applications of RPET, let’s elaborate on the importance of sustainable packaging:
The Importance of Sustainable Packaging
Sustainability is a topic that remains controversial to this day, especially in the logistics industry. Fortunately, many governments have started to listen to the public and are starting to commit to sustainability, including sustainable packaging.
As some of you might already know, packaging has a substantial influence on the environment. There are several issues associated with it, such as the numerous resources used, the sizable waste it creates, and the poor management of waste systems.
Sustainable packaging can help reduce these environmental issues, which is why it is encouraged that companies, suppliers, distributors, and others adopt eco-friendly measures. Besides reducing carbon footprint, waste, and energy consumption, its other benefits include”
Compliance with Changing Laws
Many governments are changing or introducing new laws to curtail packaging environmental issues. They offer incentives to encourage businesses to go for new packaging choices. This clearly shows that the future involves sustainable packaging, so it makes sense to start implementing eco-friendly packaging practices now.
Improved Company Reputation
If a business wants to show they are committed to protecting the environment, one of the best ways they show it is by opting for eco-friendly packaging. Sustainable packaging shows their concern for the Earth and is taking responsibility for it. This serves as a great way to improve your reputation with customers.
Fulfilled Customers Need and Want
More and more consumers realize how plastic packaging affects the environment. With this realization comes the demand to make changes in the way we live and do things, including packaging. If you want to hold on and get more customers to your business, try giving them what they want—sustainable packaging.
RPET is one of the sustainable solutions that can help manage the environmental issues in the packaging industry. With this recyclable plastic, businesses and individuals have a way to combat the issues surrounding the use of plastic on a commercial scale.
RPET Products in the Packaging Industry
- Beverage bottles
- Food containers, such as trays, jars, and bottle containers
- Cosmetic packaging
- Electronic device packaging
Other Products Outside of the Packaging Industry
Besides labels and packaging, RPET is used in textile and apparel, automotive, construction, and more.
- Clothing
- CaRPET
- Car interior fabrics
- Insulation materials
- Pens, binders, and notebooks
- Storage containers and tubs
- Sportswear
- Outdoor furniture
- Bags, caps, and other merchandise
- Pet bowls and bottles
- 3D printing filaments
Challenges and Limitations
It’s not all good with RPET as there are challenges and limitations related to its use. Before you implement and adopt recycled polyethylene terephthalate in your business or lifestyle, you will want to know about the following considerations:
Contamination Issues
There is a risk of contamination with RPET. This is because although the plastic was recycled, it still contains the same properties. RPET still has the microplastics found in virgin polyester that can be released when you wash or soak it in water. Just one wash can release around 700,000 fibers, which can then end up polluting the ocean.
Quality Concerns
Although it says that RPET products are more durable than PET plastics, they may still have quality concerns. If you remember, both PET and RPET’s integrity degrades the more you recycle them. So an RPET product that has been recycled more than once may have issues with its aesthetic and mechanical properties.
Limited Supply Of Feedstock
There are not many high-quality PET post-consumer bottles to recycle into RPET. The supply is often inconsistent, so the supply of RPET products is inconsistent as well. However, since RPET is meant to combat or reduce the production of virgin plastics, it cannot be helped that the feedstock supply is inadequate for reliable production.
Original Color And Odor
Recycling PET plastics does not often result in pure RPET. Sometimes, the original packaging or product’s odor and color remain with RPET. The remaining color and odor can be deemed as flaws, limiting the possible use of recycled materials, especially for applications where the absence of color and odor is necessary.
Lack Of Established Infrastructure
If there is no reliable infrastructure for collection and production, RPET recycling is going to be inefficient. Not all regions or countries have adequate systems for recycling PET plastic so RPET is not as ideal as a sustainable option for them. It will take some time and financial support for countries, businesses, and individuals to be able to take advantage of RPET.
Companies That Embrace RPET
Many companies have already adopted RPET, particularly in the packaging industry. Some of them are The Coca-Cola Company, Keurig-Dr. Pepper, and PepsiCo. They joined together in support of Every Bottle Back Initiative, a program by The American Beverage Association.
Every Bottle Back is also partners with the World Wildlife Fund, Closed Loop Partners, The Recycling Partnership, and other sustainability authorities. The goal of the initiative is to get back the plastic bottles used in the beverage industry to recycle them into new bottles.
Some of the other companies involved in the RPET market are:
- Clear Path Recycling
- Octal
- Loop Industries
- FENC
- UltrePET
- CarbonLITE
- Evergreen Plastics
- Clean Tech
- Alpek
- Indorama Ventures
- NEO GROUP
- Marglen Industries
- Verdeco Recycling
- SABIC
- Peninsula Plastics Recycling
- PolyQuest
- Phoenix Technologies
Government Policies on RPET
Governments across the world have started to embrace RPET. Many have already banned single-use plastics. They have also begun to implement regulations to improve waste management and introduced policies to reduce waste accumulation.
United States
The country has laws regarding bans on plastic bags already put in place. It is also currently introducing new bills on reducing waste from single-use packaging. Additionally, bills on improved recycling are being presented.
Australia
The country has put in place a regulation focused on better retrieval and recycling of plastic packaging.
Canada
There is a sustainable packaging strategy being implemented country-wide. At the same time, legislators are working on effecting zero plastic waste.
European Union
They have introduced the Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD). This directive provides regulations and measures to prevent more packaging waste. It also encourages people to recycle and reuse their packaging. Besides this, the EU is working on prohibiting certain single-use plastics.
China
China has already made moves towards sustainability since 2017. That year, the country restricted and stopped the imports of packaging waste. In 2022, it followed other countries and also proposed banning single-use plastics.
Philippines
The Philippines passed a new law to combat plastic pollution in the country. This legislation calls for large companies to retrieve plastic packaging wastes starting in December 2023.
Conclusion
RPET is no doubt a possible excellent solution to the plastic waste problem. It offers a way to deal with the plastic wastes already littering everywhere while also reducing the production of virgin plastics, therefore not exhausting limited resources.
However, as you know by now, RPET is not without limitations. It’s not an unlimited supply and there are not enough reliable infrastructures to produce RPET continuously. Nevertheless, it is a great option for governments, businesses, and individuals looking to contribute.
If you are looking for a suitable RPET bag, please contact the Bjarne bag factory, there are many styles to choose from.
