Starlinger viscotec reaches two million-tonne recycling capacity

Starlinger & Co GmbH subsidiary viscotec has reached a milestone two million tonnes of capacity for the production of PET recyclate worldwide.

An estimated 4.3 million tonnes of PET packaging waste is generated annually in the European Union, and around half sorted for recycling. With the capacity installed by Starlinger viscotec, almost the entire amount of collected and sorted PET packaging waste in the European Union could be processed to produce recycled PET (rPET).

Starlinger MD Angelika Huemer said: “Our solutions make it possible to recycle valuable raw materials. Our partners and customers share our conviction that PET can and must be recycled. To recycle contains the word “CYCLE”. Closing the loop is exactly what recyclers and packaging manufacturers do with Starlinger recoSTAR and viscoSTAR systems: they produce recyclate which is safe for food contact. A beverage bottle can be turned into a beverage bottle again after recycling."

For food packaging, PET/rPET currently meets the requirement of a closed loop. A beverage bottle, however, which after recycling becomes, for example, a car interior trim, goes into a so-called "end-of-life" application and thus is lost for the food packaging recycling loop.

PET has the highest recycling rate among plastics and is currently the only recycled plastic that is approved for contact with food in the European Union. Julia Peherstorfer, responsible for sustainability and marketing at Starlinger viscotec, added: “We want to raise awareness that PET food packaging is a valuable raw material. By using recycled PET for packaging, a lot of CO2 emissions are avoided. Many people are not aware of the fact that the carbon footprint of beverage bottles made from rPET is significantly smaller than that of reusable glass bottles. Every consumer can contribute by collecting the beverage bottles and packaging via the waste collection system, so they can be recycled. It is the collaboration of consumers that makes it possible for the PET packaging waste to be processed again into new food packaging made from recycled PET (rPET).”