End-Consumer Products Manufactured from Recycled PET Waste

End-Consumer Products Manufactured from Recycled PET Waste

Introduction

In recent years, the usage of recycled PET to make a wide range of products has become a necessity. As the need for reprocessing plastic waste increases, the PET recycling industry has also undergone substantial changes. 

It is estimated that the PET recycling industry went through a turnover worth Rs. 3500 crores in 2015 which then increased to over Rs. 5000 crores by 2020. As the PET recycling rate in India along with the application improves significantly, more than Rs. 13,500 crores turnover is expected in the next 4 to 5 years. Read on to learn more about the multitude of applications pertaining to recycled PET waste! 

End-Consumer Products that Arise out of Recycled PET Waste 

In 2020, the consumption of virgin PET resins was estimated to be around 1.1 million tonnes with 94% of PET resin consumed for packaging materials (food & non-food) . With a recycling rate of 90%, the consumption of recycled PET was estimated to be around 0.99 million tonnes with a negligible amount of it going for packaging applications.

Currently, here is how recycled PET is used in a wide bunch of industries: 

1. Fibers & Yarns utilized across varying industries – 

 When it comes to recycled PET, washed flakes can be used to manufacture a number of products ranging from fiber fills, yarns to make fabrics, non-woven, etc. In fact, in India, 95% of all of all washed flakes are used in manufacturing Partially Oriented Yarn or POY, FF, PSF, Sheets, non-woven, and so forth. 

Partially Oriented Yarn (POY) and Fully Drawn Yarn (FDY) are also certain applications of recycled PET. Fabric Industry is the biggest consumer and has various applications in the form of T-shirts, caps, scarfs, jackets, carry bags, etc. 

The non-woven applications of recycled PET include automobile carpets, boot liners, and so forth. Polyester fiber also serves as a filling material in cushions and pillows, as well as fabrics for upholstery. 

2. Bottles and Trays for Food & Non-Food Grade Applications 

Premium-quality rPET chips come equipped with high filtration capacity and can effectively replace virgin plastic. These rPET chips go through a series of decontamination processes to make them safe even for food-grade packaging. Currently in India,  only a negligible amount was being used to make packaging products compared to ~35% of rPET being used to make bottles (food & non-food) across the globe. The huge gap is expected to drastically reduce in the coming years due to mandatory government regulations for using at least 25% recycled plastic from 2025.

3. rPET Sheets & Films 

One of the growing applications similar to the bottle-to-bottle applications is that of rPET sheets and films. With high strength, stability and transparency, rPET films can be used in a number of different applications such as antimicrobial films, insulating films, photovoltaic backsheets, surface protection films, photographic films, and packaging.

Go Rewise’s rPET chips & flakes have been recognized with prestigious international certifications and are proven to have several end-use applications including packaging for water, carbonated salt drinks, edible oils,  detergent bottles, packaging films, and so forth. 

Current Scenario 

At the current moment, a small part of recycled plastic goes into packaging due to government regulations banning the usage of rPET for food packaging.

However, in recent times, India has not only greenlit the usage of recycled PET in food-grade packaging but has also made 25% of its use mandatory from 2025.

The consistent availability of quality recycled PET resin can lead to the whole process and its projected growth in India. In fact, certain Indian brands are already exploring the usage of rPET resin in secondary packagings, such as bottles & jars as the need for ‘Greener Packaging Materials’ increases by leaps and bounds.