From PET bottle flakes to rPET sheets

The plastic packaging producer Kobusch is ready to conclude its planned expansion in the field of rPET with the installation of a new inline sheet facility at Stanley (United Kingdom). A Vacurema recycling plant supplied by Erema is the central element of the expansion, with the latest generation of extrusion equipment coming from SML Maschinen. The new plant will enable Kobusch to produce 100% food grade rPET cast films up to 1,400 kg/h.
The new line (for an investment of £ 3 million) will enable Kobusch to increase the proportion of post-consumer waste material in its rPET products even further, without compromising quality and purity during the thermoforming process. In recent years, the demand for greater energy efficiency and sustainability has resulted in the steady growth of the market for films containing recycled material. According to Erema, the advantage of the new technology incorporated in the new extrusion plant is its highly efficient decontamination performance. Food-grade rPET monolayer film can now be produced directly from PET bottle flakes, so it is possible to dispense with the surface layer of virgin PET used in conventional ABA multilayer films, which is good for the environment and helps to conserve precious resources.