CarbonLITE now runs three Starlinger rPET lines

Vienna-based Starlinger & Co. GmbH has been contracted to supply PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling technology with a combined capacity of 5.4 metric tons per hour to the newest facility in the United States operated by CarbonLITE Industries LLC.

According to Starlinger, the newest system on order will be on-site in Pennsylvania by the end of 2019.

CarbonLITE is a producer of food-grade rPET that already operates Starlinger recycling lines at its locations in Riverside, California, and in Dallas.

CarbonLITE’s Pennsylvania plant will be equipped with Starlinger recoSTAR PET recycling lines that will process washed and sorted flakes into food-grade rPET. The lines will cover the recycling of clear PET flakes and colored flakes, including PET fines (small particles that are a byproduct of washing and grinding).

“With the first two installations in California and Texas, we have earned CarbonLITE’s trust in our technology,” says Paul Niedl, commercial head of Starlinger recycling technology. The new facility will have an annual capacity to convert more than 2 billion post-consumer bottles; full production is expected to commence in early 2020.

The addition of the Pennsylvania plant will bring the total number of bottles recycled by CarbonLITE up to 6 billion per year, according to a Starlinger press release. The company’s main customers are global beverage producers seeking to secure recycled material in close proximity to their bottling facilities in the region. Being able to purchase rPET from a local source allows brand owners to increase their use of recycled materials and lower the carbon footprint of their beverage bottles.

Starlinger recycling technology has been designed to provide machinery for the recycling and refining of several types of plastics, including polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and PET. Starlinger PET recycling systems have been designed to produce food-contact rPET and are approved for use in food applications by many brand owners and several national and international authorities.