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Sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability
What does sustainability mean for Eproplast?
Sustainability in the plastics industry involves acting responsibly throughout the entire life cycle of plastic products. This means that we take care to conserve resources, minimise environmental impact and promote long-term ecological, social and economic balance.
For us as a PET bottle manufacturer, sustainability is a high priority. Through resource-efficient production and the use of recycled PET, we contribute to the design of environmentally friendly packaging solutions.
Design for Recycling" is the most important basis of our research and development.
After all, we think of our packaging as sustainable right from the start. Every new product is optimised for this from the very first development phase:
- Monomaterial - 100 % PET
- Closures & handles made of 100% PET - increasing mono-material share in bottle-closure combination
- Verschlüsse und Griffe aus 100 % PET - zunehmender Anteil des Monomaterials bei der Kombination von Flaschen und Verschlüssen
- Weight optimisation - only as much packaging as necessary
We have long recognised that a functioning circular economy requires optimised packaging solutions. Packaging must remain in the cycle for as long as possible and be reprocessed into equivalent products via recycling.
In this way, we not only reduce the new production of plastics but also the impact on the environment enormously.
Sustainable thinking - For our customers
Our sustainable approaches also have a positive impact for our customers, whatever their industry. By providing environmentally friendly packaging solutions, we help them achieve their sustainability goals.
By relying on recycled PET and investing immensely in increasingly energy-efficient manufacturing facilities, we strengthen our customers' image as responsible companies and help them position themselves clearly to act in an environmentally conscious way.
Sustainable packaging is a sign of commitment and innovation, which in turn builds consumer confidence and drives our customers' success.
This is how our customers manage to communicate their sustainability efforts at the POS and offer packaging that meets consumer needs and market demands.
PET - PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
ENVIRONMENT & RESPONSIBILITY / PET REGRANULATE.
PET bottles and PET containers are environmentally friendly packaging that can be 100% recycled. At EPROPLAST, we also mix the so-called PET regranulate - which comes from the recycling cycle - with virgin PET granulate. Our state-of-the-art plant technology is energy-efficient and economical. Waste heat from our facilities is used to heat our warehouses and offices in winter. Furthermore, the entire production process of PET packaging is many times more energy-saving and environmentally friendly than comparable glass products.
Learn more facts about the raw material PET, its advantageous properties, as well as the numerous and different application possibilities on the market.
If you have any further questions about PET packaging or PET packaging technology, please do not hesitate to contact us.
THE ADVANTAGES OF PET PACKAGING
FACTS VIEWED OBJECTIVELY
Possible alternatives to plastic packaging are increasingly appearing on the market, but on closer inspection they are by no means to be regarded as more sustainable.
In order to conduct an objective discussion on the topics of packaging and sustainability, figures, data and facts are indispensable. One of the most important parameters is the value of CO2 emissions. In order to obtain a neutral evaluation of this parameter from one of our 500 ml PET hotfill bottles to a glass bottle of the same size, we have commissioned the company ClimatePartner in Munich to prepare a calculation of the aforementioned emissions. Taking into account raw material extraction, production and delivery to the customer, the determination of the necessary values and their comparison produced a clear result.
ENVIRONMENT & RESPONSIBILITY / PET REGRANULATE.
Taking into account exports of filled bottles abroad and imports of foreign products into Germany, the consumption of PET for beverage bottles was 477 kt. Across all collections (deposit bottles, Petcycle, dual systems, etc.), 456.4 kt of PET was collected again in Germany. This corresponds to a collection rate of 95.7%. If only the collection rate for PET deposit bottles is considered, it is almost 99%. This means that PET as a packaging material has by far the highest collection rate among plastics.
477,0 kt
Total PET beverage bottle consumption in Germany
kt
Total PET bottle collection in Germany
kt
Recycling input in Germany & abroad
kt
Recycling output in Germany & abroad
From the collected PET volume, a total of approx. 95% recycled PET (rPET) was recovered for reuse. Approx. 34% of the recycled PET is used for bottle-to-bottle applications. The rest is used for the production of fibers, films, packaging tapes, injection molding applications and also non-food PET bottles (cleaning agents, chemicals). In the meantime, the demand in Germany and Europe for recycled PET exceeds the supply. The sale of used plastics to Asia practically no longer takes place...
356,4
kt
Total output rPET in Germany
kt
Usage: Films, fibers & others
121,1 kt
Usage: Bottle to Bottle
Just to give you an idea of the dimensions. In Germany, a total of 477 kt of PET was consumed for beverage bottles in 2015. In China, the comparable quantity is around 5,000 kt, i.e. more than 10 times as much. Considering that there is no collection system in China comparable to that in Germany, it is clear where marine littering comes from.
5.000 kt
Consumption of PET in China (2015)
kt
Consumption of PET in Germany (2015)
WHY NOT 100% RECYCLED?
THE CLOSED RECYCLING LOOP THROUGH THE USE OF RECYCLED PET
In the manufacturing process, there is process-related waste due to washing and sorting. This material (caps, labels, packaging bags, etc.) is used for low-grade applications. Therefore, approximately 70-80% of recycled PET is obtained from old bottles. Of course, the quality of the material is not improved by constant recycling.
The molecule chains become shorter and thus more difficult to process. For sustainable production it is important that virgin material is always mixed with recycled material. Therefore we have decided to use 50% recycled material. Of course, bottles with a different recycled content can also be offered.
USE OF PET RECYCLATE
EPROPLAST GmbH offers almost all bottles with an rPET content as an option for bottles made of virgin material. The customer can choose between a 30%, 50% or even 100% rPET content.
The use of recycled PET has an influence on the intrinsic coloration. The transparent material gets a slightly darker shade of gray. Therefore, many bottles with recycled PET are produced with a coloring agent.
