Page 26 - Plastics News April 2017

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Full-Wrap Shrink Labels: Their Impact on PET Bottle Recycling

and Sustainability

While “temporary” solutions have been discussed involving zippered or scored labels that would
make them easier to remove, or a return to paper labels, clearly the most effective long--term
solution is to use a label that floats and is compatible with the existing label stream and PET
recycling infrastructure
Background is no longer a viable option. Currently, some full- -wrap
label bottles are being sold as “out- - throws” at prices
The incidence of PET bottles using full-wrap shrink Labels
was first noted by NAPCOR in its 2007 bale composition significantly below market; some are being blended
study at Levels around 65% by weight. At that time, into low-valuea pplications;and many aresimply being
reclaimers reported that the bottles were contributing stockpiled as reclaimers look for a solution or a market. All
to the increased residual contamination in the recyclate of this has significant economic impact on the PET bottle
produced. NAPCOR’s 2011 Bale study showed an increase reclamation industry. If the PET recycling infrastructure
to 3% by weight of all bottles collected in the USA, and to is to remain sustainable, this issue can not be ignored; it
3.5% of containers collected through curbside recycling. needs to be addressed now.
Canadian Reclaimer data indicate that full- -wrap shrink The Issues and Impacts:
Labeled PET bottles now make up 6% of the curbside The information is intended to give a working knowledge
recycling Stream by weight.
of the problem and the complexity of its impacts; it is not
What is a Full-Wrap Shrink Label? meant to be prescriptive or an evaluation of any particular
labels other than in a generic sense.
Reclamation Process:

PET bottle reclaimers are those operations that purchase
post consumer bottles and thermoforms, and sort
and clean them to produce a clean flake suitable for
remanufacture. The flake is either sold or used internally
in the production of pellets, sheet, fiber or strapping.
Reclaimers are the lynchpin of the industry: without
them, there is no true PET recycling. Full-wrap shrink
labels pose a variety of problems for reclaimers, none of
which are insignificant. Although all reclaimers employ
slightly different technologies, their concerns fall into
A label that is heat shrunk snugly around a significant three common areasof processing and quality control.
portion of the entire bottle surface, running contiguously,
with no seam or other break. These labels are becoming Blinding of autosort devices as also experienced by the
increasingly popular with brand owners due to the MRFs during intermediate processing, forcing either a
marketing opportunities they provide and positive reprogram of the software, or the addition of manual
consumer response. sorters to remove the bottles.
What was formerly a nuisance has now become a crisis... Difficulties in label separation:

As reclaimers, particularlythose focused on manufacturing Reclaimers commonly remove label and cap material by
RPET suitable for use in packaging applications suchas both elutriating and float / sinking: separating material by
bottles and thermoforms, have had to remove these full- - density variances using air and water mediums. However,
wrap label bottles, either manually or by reprogramming the full-wrap labels are so heavy that in order to gain any
autosort equipment. Initially, most of these bottles were removal efficiency, the elutriation equipment must be
simply thrown out, but as their volumes increase that

Plastics News | April 2017 26 43 April 2015 Plastics News
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