#Use of Recycled Plastics in Food Grade

8/8/2019 #Use of Recycled Plastics in Food Grade

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SD06/02 Tel: (01733) 390021 Fax: (01733) 390031 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.recoup.org

Use of Recycled Plastics in Food GradeApplications

Introduction

It is possible to use post consumer recycled (PCR) plastics in a wide range of high specificationapplications including food contact packaging.

Several factors support this application including:

! Mandatory recycled content legislation in some countries

! The drive to create closed-loop recycling

! The potential for reducing the packaging costs

! The need to find and develop large, high value applications for recycled polymers

! Advances in technology

! Market competitiveness

Industry has developed three routes for the use of PCR plastics in food contact applications:

! Feedstock recycling

! Multilayer extrusion

! Superclean recycling processes

Post consumer recycled PET can now compete economically, in some cases, with virgin PET inapplications such as bottles; as a result bottles with PCR content are now used commercially around

the world, including the UK. Pilot schemes involving the use of recycled HDPE in applications such asbottles are currently in progress.

UK legislative background

In the UK there is no legal barrier to the use of recycled plastics in food contact applications as long asit meets broad requirements which: aim(s) to keep food safe and wholesome by requiring thatcontact materials and articles, such as packaging do not transfer their constituents into food so as toendanger health or affect food quality.

Recycling post consumer plastics for food contact applications

Three approaches have been developed for the recycling of post-consumer plastics for food contactapplications.

Feedstock recycling

Recovered polymers (possibly including those originally used for non food-contact applications) arebroken down to chemical precursors, which may then be purified and repolymerised to give newpolymers (see Recoup Factsheets: Feedstock recycling of mixed polymers and Feedstock recycling ofPET). Four US companies chemical recycling processes were granted US Food and DrugAdministration (FDA) approval in the early 1990s; DuPont (methanolysis), Eastman Kodak(methanolysis), KoSa/Hoechst Celanese (methanolysis) and Shell (glycolysis).

Multilayer extrusion processing

High quality mechanically recycled food grade polymer, such as that derived from in-house scrap ordrinks bottles, is sandwiched between two layers of virgin polymer.

FACT SHEET


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Chemical contamination present in the post consumer scrap must not migrate to the foodstuff.Extensive testing involving the deliberate introduction of a range of model contaminants into the PCRPET middle layer of a multilayer PET bottle, followed by testing under specified conditions hasdemonstrated the action of PET as a functional barrier. Multilayer PET bottles are now wellestablished, having received non-object for food contact applications in several markets including theUK.

The US FDA granted a Non-Object for multilayer PET containers to Continental PET technologies in1993. The US FDA requires a 0.025mm thick inner virgin PET layer to prevent food contact by theinner PCR PET layer.

The Continental PET Recycling RPET content bottles were used by Coca-Cola in Australia and NewZealand, individual EU countries (Belgium, Sweden and Switzerland) have also approved themultilayer principle. Schmalbach-Lubeca PET Containers (Wrexham) took over production of Multi-layer bottles from Continental PET Europe.

Plysu Recycling pioneered multilayer extrusion processing of HDPE in the early 1990s and thetechnique is now used to produce PCR HDPE in non-food containers such as motor oil containers.

Superclean recycling

Several organisations have developed proprietary processes using both mechanical and non-mechanical procedures to recycle high quality post consumer material, producing polymer suitable foruse in monolayer applications.

The first two processes to receive USEPA non-object status were:

! SupercycleTM

PET developed by Amcor PET Packaging

! EcoclearTM

developed by Wellman

SupercycleTM

PET developed by Amcor PET Packaging, was the first mono-layered super cleanmechanically reprocessed PET to obtain FDA non-object for direct food contact in 1994.

SupercycleTM

PET has been produced at the 9000tpa capacity Novi, plant at Michigan, US since 1994,for use in the US, Australia and Europe.

A second SupercycleTM

plant was opened in Beaune, France in 1998. This site has now beenexpanded as a result of co-operation between Amcor PET Packaging and the Bhler TechnologyGroup. The resulting new recycling system is the first of its kind worldwide and has enabled the plantto almost treble production volume, from 6,000 to 15,000 tonnes per annum, while significantlyimproving its cost effectiveness.

Wellman, have developed a process based upon mechanical sorting and chemical / thermal cleaningto produce Ecoclear

TM, a clear and colourless PET based product granted Non-object by the US

FDA for use at up to 100% recycled PET content in food applications in 1996. EcoclearTM

is nowbeing produced in Holland and used in beverage bottles in the UK.

Other processes have subsequently received non object status from the US FDA and furtherprocesses are currently under review. Various suppliers of equipment, including Erema and Buhlerhave also received FDA approval.

Experience with food contact PCR PET

The commercial use of PCR PET in food contact applications was pioneered by Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Coca-Cola initially used bottles with chemically recycled (Hoechst methanolysis) PET content in theUS in 1991. Coca-Cola have used multi-layer bottles, supplied by Continental PET in Australia andNew Zealand since 1993 and in Switzerland and Sweden since 1995.

Coca-Cola introduced food contact RPET bottles to the UK in 1992, primarily to demonstrate that itwas technically possible and to encourage European chemical industries to produce food contact


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recycled PET. Initially chemically recycled PET was imported from the USA, but because of the highcosts incurred this approach was superseded by multilayer bottles. Coca-Cola stopped using RPETbottles in the UK in 1994 because of the falling price of virgin PET and difficulties encounteredobtaining sufficient quantities of high quality post-consumer PET from the UK. Multilayer bottles arecurrently used by Coca-Cola in other European countries including Switzerland and Belgium. The useof PCR PET bottles in the UK remains a medium to long term objective of Coca-Cola (GB).

Coca-Cola are committed to plastics recycling, in their eKOsystem Brochure, which summarises theirenvironmental management system they state:

Operations set annual goals for continuous improvement in waste prevention andrecycling and give purchasing preference to products made entirely or partially ofrecycled materials

Today, one in four PET containers sold by The Coca-Cola Company in North America containrecycled content.

Pepsi have used PET bottles made from recycled material supplied by Shell Polyester, Akron, Ohio(chemically recycled, PET) and Johnson Controls (mechanically recycled, Supercycle

TMPET).

Recycled PET (RPET) bottles were used primarily in Florida and California before environmentallegislation in both states lapsed.

Like Coca-Cola, Pepsi are also committed to plastics recycling stating in Our Commitment to theEnvironment:

Pepsi-Cola has a goal of placing 10% recycled content in all its plastic bottles in the USby 2005.

Experience with food contact PCR HDPE

In 2002 an innovative recycling project Green Cycle was introduced to Northern Ireland. The pilotscheme, operating in Armagh, Newry and Dungannon uses reverse vending machines to collect and

shred plastic milk bottles.

The shredded plastic is then collected, granulated and fed through a superclean recycling process toensure that any remaining impurities or contaminants have been removed. The material then passesthrough an extrusion process, producing food grade granules. The food grade granules are mixedwith a small percentage of virgin granules before being moulded once more into milk containers.

The Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has subjected Green Cycles process to the most rigouroustesting and examination, meeting with the demanding standards of the European Unions health andsafety requirements for food use containers. Formal approval from the US FDA now looks set tofollow, giving Green Cycle world-wide accreditation.

Summary

Initially chemical recycling appeared to be the most promising route for recycling post consumer PETto food grade quality. Over the last decade however, the costs of the alternative recycling routes havecome down and these now appear to be commercially preferred.

Technical advances mean that PCR PET can now compete competitively with virgin PET inapplication such as bottles. The commercial success of all these processes in the long term is directlydependent upon the ability to produce preforms at a cost equal to, or below that of those made withvirgin polymer.


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Useful contacts

Department for Environment Food andRural Affairs (DEFRA)

Website: http://www.defra.gov.ukEmail: [email protected]: DEFRA Helpline

Department for Environment, Foodand Rural Affairs3-8 Whitehall PlaceLondonSW1A 2HH

Tel: 08459 335577Fax: 020 72708419

Further information on legislation in GreatBritain relating to the food contact materialsand articles is available from DEFRA.

British Plastics Federation (BPF)

Website: http://www.bpf.co.ukAddress: 6 Bath Place

Rivington StreetLondonEC2A 3JE

Tel: 020 7457 5000Fax: 020 7457 5045

The British Plastics Federation is the principaltrade association for the UK Plastics Industry,representing polymer producers, suppliers andprocessors in addition to additive andmachinery suppliers and manufacturers.

Detailed guidance on the application oflegislation relating to plastics in contact withfood is available from The British PlasticsFederation.

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Website: http://www.fda.govAddress: Food and Drug Administration

5600 Fishers LaneRockvilleMaryland 20857

The FDA's mission is to promote and protect

the public health by helping safe and effectiveproducts reach the market in a timely way, andmonitoring products for continued safety afterthey are in use.

Environmental Data Services (ENDS)

Website: http://www.ends.co.ukAddress: 40 Bowling Green Lane

LondonEC1R 0NE

Tel: 020 7814 5300Fax: 020 7415 0106

ENDS provides European environmental news

Norplas

Website: http://www.norplas.co.ukE-mail: [email protected]: Manor Farm House

Gosbeck

IpswichSuffolkIP6 9SH

Tel: 01449 761841Fax: 0 1449 761761

Norplas represent a number of companies,providing machinery and solutions for aspectsof the recycling and reuse of polymers.

Erema

Website: http://www.erema.atE-mail: [email protected]: Engineering Recycling und Anlagen

Ges.m.b.HUnterfeldstrae 3P.O.B. 38A-4052 Ansfelden/LinzAustria

Tel: +43 / 732 / 3190 - 0Fax: +43 / 732 / 3190 - 23

Eremas PET recycling technologyVACUREMA received FDA certification inNovember 2000.

Buhler

Website:http://www.buhlergroup.com/tp/en/default.asp

The products resulting from the Buhler processmeet the specific requirements for foodapplications, such as FDA approval, or othercountry specific requirements.

Amcor Limited

Website: http://www.amcor.com

Amcor is a leading global packaging companywith annual sales of approximately A$11billion. Amcor offers a broad range of plastic,fibre, metal and glass packaging products,PET containers, plastic and metal closures,along with packaging-related services.

#Use of Recycled Plastics in Food Grade

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