Coveris supports sustainable production with new PET flakes recycling module in France

Coveris, a packaging and engineered coatings manufacturer headquartered in the US, has installed a flakes polyethylene terephthalate (PET) module at the Coveris Rigid France SAS factory in Soustons, France.

The installation was supported financially by the Aquitaine region and is instrumental in reducing virgin material and re-uses plastic PET household waste that is almost entirely recovered from national bottle collection schemes.

It then converts the recovered post-consumer hot-washed PET flakes into recycled PET (rPET) material that is suitable for manufacture of food packaging where the food comes into direct contact with the packaging.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has confirmed that the post-consumer rPET flakes processed in the new module are safe for use in all food applications, according to the company.

rPET flakes used at the Soustons factory are sourced from a local supplier in Bayonne, France, which is only 50km south of Soustons. Fuel costs are reduced by the shorter distance the flakes travel, reducing the amount of fuel burnt and motor vehicle emissions released into the atmosphere.

Because of this short route, the amount of fuel and human resources needed have been drastically reduced. Over 2,600 tons of rPET flakes have been shipped from Bayonne to the Soustons factory via this short supply route, which means Coveris has saved an equal amount of plastic. The packaging produced with rPET is produced with 100% rPET, with no additives needed.