Packaging Companies Complete Trials on Recycled Plastic Packaging

Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd., Marks & Spencer, and Boots have all completed year-long trials, funded by the Waste & Resources Action Programme, which explore for the first time in the United Kingdom the potential to close the recycling loop for PET plastic.

The findings have been very positive and have shown that recycled PET can meet the technical, commercial and safety requirements demanded by the retail sector, as well as scoring highly in terms of customer acceptability. As a result, all three project partners have either confirmed their intentions to use rPET on a commercial scale in the future or are already doing so.

"This is a major breakthrough for plastics recycling in the UK," says WRAP Chief Executive Jennie Price. "This type of commitment from major brand names signals a growth in demand for rPET, which will in turn stimulate UK recycling capacity and will also show consumers that there is a strong home market for the plastic they recycle - helping to motivate them to recycle more."

Demand for the material is growing faster than for any other type of plastic, but of the 30-40,000 metric tons of PET recycled in the UK every year, very little went back into UK packaging production. WRAP’s aim in funding the trials was to help close the recycling loop by demonstrating the viability of using rPET in new packaging, particularly in high value food grade packaging, and thereby encouraging UK market demand.

The project has seen a range of packaging produced and tested to establish both performance and consumer acceptability.

CCE tested 25 percent rPET in a range of 500ml bottles, including Diet Coke; Marks & Spencer incorporated between 30 and 50 percent rPET in the packaging for its salad and ‘Food to Go’ ranges; and Boots used 30 percent rPET in the packaging for their high profile Ingredients range of toiletries.

The successful CCE trial involved the production of 75 million bottles for a range of the company’s best selling carbonated drinks. As well as proving performance and acceptability, CCE has found that using rPET can deliver energy savings in the bottle manufacturing process.

Marks & Spencer incorporated rPET in 150 million packs during the trial and has not only continued with its use, but is committed to extending to a wider range of products. The company used on-pack messages and dedicated recycling bins to communicate the concept of closing the packaging loop and reported an overwhelmingly positive response from customers.

Basing the trials at its own packaging production unit in Nottingham, Boots investigated the viability of using different percentages of rPET in the packaging for its ‘Ingredients’ range of shampoos and conditioners. Between October 2005 and March this year, the company manufactured 1.3 million bottles containing 30 percent rPET which went on shelf in stores across the UK.

Project partners London Remade and Closed Loop London worked with Marks and Spencer and Boots to deliver the successful outcomes. "Our role in the project was to co-ordinate the activities of all stakeholders involved in manufacturing, testing, filling and marketing of the rPET packaging line," says Robert Pascoe, Managing Director of CLL, "and the results of the trials clearly demonstrate the viability of rPET as an environmentally responsible packaging material."