Brand owners are committed to increasing their use of recycled plastics to meet their publicly declared environmental goals, but they are facing more than just technical challenges. These challenges include the short supply and additional cost of high-quality recycled PET.
The situation is exacerbated because PET thermally degrades when it is repeatedly reprocessed, as these multiple heat histories lead to yellowing and viscosity breakdown, limiting the use of such materials. HiTerra rPET Revive aims to ease the crunch at the molecular level.
“rPET Revive can allow for a higher regrind/recycle rate and improve productivity,” according to Steve Smith, Techmer PM’s Market Manager for Rigid Packaging. “We selected the active ingredient to be compatible with PET resins used in fiber and molding applications. Converters can use it in the production of thermoformed sheets, and the product is showing good potential for use in bottles, as well.”
