Brother’s Drinks bottles savings from PET liner recycling scheme

A PET label liner recycling scheme started in 2014 has saved one drinks manufacturer significant costs, as well as provided reduced environmental impact and greenhouse gas emissions.

Brother’s Drinks Co. Limited started shipping its PET liner to Scotland-based recycling specialist, PET UK, on a regular basis in July 2014 following the implementation of a new sustainability scheme by labels producer, Avery Dennison.

In the following 12 months, approximately 50 tonnes of PET liner has gone from Brother’s manufacturing base in Somerset to Scotland. This has saved waste liner from more than 1.5 million square metres of labels from incineration and yielded enough PET resin to make almost two million microwave trays.

Brothers Drinks was started in 1992 by four brothers who are fourteenth generation cider makers. The firm produces 150 million bottles a year, employing around 110 people.

Peter Faxholm, Operations Manager at Brothers Drinks said that as well as reducing the material going to incineration or landfill, the PET UK scheme offered additional benefits.  

“We estimate that we have saved around £6-8,000 by taking part in this programme. More importantly, we are able to save significant amounts of CO2 emissions by having our PET liner recycled and turned into a resource, instead of incinerated. From both business and brand value perspectives, this programme is a real winner,” Faxholm explained.

Xander van der Vlies, Sustainability Director for Avery Dennison, said that the PET UK recycling scheme is one part of a much wider global effort to meet Avery Dennison’s ambitious 2025 Sustainability Goals, which includes a target of eliminating 70 percent of matrix and liner waste from its value chain.

“Our work with PET UK makes an important contribution to our ongoing efforts – and we are determined to meet our 2025 Sustainability Goals and minimise environmental impacts,” van der Vlies said.

John Currie, Commercial Director at PET UK said that the end product from the scheme is a valuable raw material. “Instead of these PET liners going to a general waste bin, for disposal, at a cost to Brothers Drinks of approximately £120 per tonne, it becomes a raw material for our plant in Dumfries to produce new PET resin granulate. This resin becomes a feedstock for the production of items such as PET staple fibre, strapping or thermoformable sheets, used for the production of microwave trays.”