NGR PET recycling process receives EU food contact approval

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a positive scientific opinion for the Liquid State Polycondensation (LSP) process for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic recycling developed by Austria-based Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen GmbH (NGR).

“This marks a groundbreaking milestone, as LSP becomes the first recycling process to complete evaluation under the updated regulation (EU) 2022/1616,” NGR says.

“Unlike the previous regulation (EC) 282/2008, where individual recyclers sought authorization, the responsibility now lies with developers of decontamination processes. Each approved process is assigned a unique Recycling Process Authorization Number (RAN) and listed in a public register.”

While processes approved under the old regulation were not guaranteed compliance under the new standards, NGR's LSP process has “successfully demonstrated its exceptional cleaning efficiency, setting a new benchmark in food-grade plastic recycling.”

NGR says its LSP process differs from solid state polycondensation (SSP) processes, which requires prolonged high-temperature processing in a vacuum.

An NGR graphic of the LSP process shows a dryer as a first step, followed by extrusion, the melt state polycondensation system and, finally, granulation.

Meanwhile, LSP harnesses the faster reaction rates in the melt phase. This breakthrough approach significantly reduces energy consumption and processing time while delivering high-quality results, according to the firm.

“This recognition by EFSA is a testament to the innovative strength and technical expertise of our team,” says Josef Hochreiter, CEO of NGR. “Achieving the first positive scientific opinion under the new regulation underscores our commitment to advancing sustainable, food-safe recycling technologies for a circular economy.”

EFSA's opinion is a step toward final approval by the European Commission, after which the LSP process can be assigned an RAN and listed in an EU public register.

NGR designs and manufactures customized recycling machinery for plastics recyclers. In addition to Austria, the firm operates locations in the United States, China, Malaysia and Vietnam, employing more than 200 people globally.