Starlinger highlights bottle-to-bottle recycling at drinktec

At this year's drinktec, a beverage and liquid food exhibition held in Munich from September 14 to 19, Austrian PET recycling line manufacturer Starlinger has presented its latest advances in bottle-to-bottle recycling to the visitors.

The company welcomed about 170 visitors from 50 countries at the Starlinger booth. Guests were served beverages from Mineralquellen Wuellner of Bielefeld, Germany, in 0.5 liter bottles: These bottles were made using 30% rPET, produced on a Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 iV+ recycling line by BtB PET-Recycling , also of Bielefeld. The visitors for the most part represented beverage bottling plants and preform producers, as well as brand owners investigating the possibilities for use of rPET in their packaging.

A worldwide surge of interest in bottle-to-bottle recycling was noticeable at drinktec:
Reduction of carbon footprint and economy of resources remain vital issues, and many countries and regions are increasing pressure on the public and industry to meet goals for collection and reuse of PET. In 2008, about 12.8 million PET bottles were produced worldwide (source: PCI), and demand continues to increase. More and more people are able to afford CSD (Carbonated Soft Drinks), and the use of bottled water is on the rise. Other growing market segments for PET bottles are beer (in place of glass bottles), fruit and vegetable juices, as well as tea and isotonic beverages.

Parallel to drinktec a two-day PET World Congress was held, at which Elfriede Hell, division general manager of Starlinger recycling technology, gave a comprehensive talk on the topic of "Food-contact issues for rPET". She discussed in detail the standards the bottle-to-bottle recycling process must meet, as well as the procedures for food contact suitability certification by the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the EFSA in the European Union or other national certifications.