PET recycling for a sustainable circular economy
PET bottles are very popular. In Switzerland alone, around 1.6 billion PET beverage bottles come into circulation every year. One of the reasons for this widespread use is that PET is easy to recycle. PET recycling has many advantages – especially for the environment.
Hunkeler Systeme AG builds compaction systems that compact PET bottles and prepare them for recycling. In the following article, we explain the advantages such systems and how they work.
What are the benefits of PET recycling?
PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate. This is a plastic that is made from hydrogen, carbon and oxygen. One of its distinguishing features is that it is easy to recycle. The granulate obtained is used as a raw material for new PET bottles or for products such as films or fibers. Recycling has the advantage that less new material must be produced from crude oil.
Around two kilograms of crude oil are needed to produce one kilogram of PET. The use of crude oil is not necessary with recycled PET. In addition, the production of bottles from recycled PET requires only around 50% of the energy needed to produce new PET bottles. PET recycling therefore benefits the environment.
What tasks do compaction systems perform in the PET cycle?
In PET recycling, used bottles are processed into granulate. This takes place in special PET recycling plants. PET bottles must be prepared accordingly so that transportation to such recycling plants is as efficient and resource-saving as possible. Compacting systems are best suited for this. To ensure that the air escapes from the bottles and the PET bottles do not expand again after compaction, the PET bottles are processed using e.g. perforators, slitters, or flatteners. The prepared bottles are then compacted into compact bales in baling presses. This reduces logistics and storage costs. Transport vehicles can also be better utilized. This results in lower carbon emissions and transportation costs.
The compaction systems from Hunkeler Systeme AG are designed to process different quantities of PET bottles. The compressed bales can then be sent for PET recycling.
A compaction system is particularly useful for the following companies and institutions:
- Supermarkets
- Logistics and distribution centers
- Beverage retailers
- Recycling centers
- Waste dealers
800 tons of PET bottles per year
The Migros Lucerne Cooperative’s operations center in Dierikon receives packaging recyclables from all over Central Switzerland that need to be disposed of. This includes around 800 tons of PET bottles per year. Since January 2021, a new compaction system with a PET recycling module (PRM) and baling press from Hunkeler Systeme AG has been used for the disposal of recyclable materials. The PET bottles are fed into the PRM via a conveyor belt. Here, the PET bottles are flattened. The PET bottles are then compacted into bales fully automatically.
Do you have any questions about PET recycling? Or would you like to find out more about compaction systems for recyclable materials? Our team will be happy to help and advise you.
