TECHNOLOGY | PET


Designated Technolmelt EM 355 RE, the hot melt adhesive enables clean separation between the label and bottle at end of life. According to the proposed EU Packaging and


Packaging Waste Regulations (PPWR) PET bottles must be designed so that they can be easily recycled. At the same time binding specifications for the use of recycled material in PET bottle production also apply. Starting this year, single-use PET bottles must contain a minimum of 25% of recycled material and this will rise to 30% by 2030. But reality lags some way behind this, said Henkel, which is based in Montabur, Germany. Currently, over 60% of PET bottles are collected


Above: Henkel says Technolmelt EM 355 RE hot melt adhesive enables clean separation between the label and bottle at end of life


materials intended for food contact. This document goes beyond the EU, however. It outlines how non-EU operators can show that their products meet equivalent non-EU standards and EU food contact regulations. The document is designed to help the PET value chain show that recycled plastics used in food contact applications are both safe and traceable. It gives operators ‘actionable criteria for collecting sorting and pre-processing plastics waste destined for food contact applications, Petcore Europe added.


Test protocol Raphael Jaumotte, Technical Manager at Petcore Europe said: “This guide is the result of extensive collaboration among experts in food contact regulation, waste management recycling, conversion and packaging. Its aim is to ensure the safety of PET.” This announcement was followed in July by the


European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) launching its Circularity Test Protocol, which aligns with the EU’s PPWR. The protocol is designed to simulate multiple recycling loops and better address the evolving needs of the PET industry as the content of rPET in bottles increases. EPBP – which is supported by Petcore Europe,


Natural Mineral Waters Europe and UNESDA – will initially offer test protocols to applicants seeking a recyclability or circularity assessment. It will collaborate with relevant stakeholders to establish a transition period for the newly developed PET Circularity Protocol and its associated design guidelines. This transition period will enable the industry to prepare for the new design-for-circulari- ty guidelines. These will be announced by EPBP in the near future. Henkel is helping to simplify the PET bottle


recycling process by developing a PET adhesive to glue the label to the bottle.


32 PLASTICS RECYCLING WORLD | November/December 2025


in Europe, so the PET value chain could return 11 million bottles/year to the recycling cycle. But, residues often render the materials unusable and stand in the way of efficient recycling.


Label removal Hotmelt adhesives are widely used to attach labels to bottles, But the adhesives are very tenacious and a dip in the hot caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) bath, which is part of the normal recycling process will only remove from 12-30%. This means that rPET chips are contaminated and are often cloudy or yel- low, so they cannot be used in food contact applications, Henkel added. Food compliant Technolmelt EM355 RE is designed to be alkali-dispersible, said Henkel, adding that up to 98% can be removed. The removed adhesive goes into the same waste stream as the labels, away from the PET recycling waste stream. Henkel has designed the adhesive for both plastic and paper labels in operations that process up to 40,000 bottle labels/hour at temperatures between 110°C and140°C. This relatively low temperature range means that


less energy is needed than is the case with hot- melts which operate at higher temperatures, Henkel said. A second benefit for operators is that because their machinery will be operating at lower temperatures, machinery lifetime could be pro- longed.


CLICK ON THE LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION: � https://ngr-world.com � www.mas-austria.com � www.meaf.com � www.starlinger.com � www.petcore-europe.org � www.epbp.org � www.henkel.com


www.plasticsrecyclingworld.com


IMAGE: HENKEL


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