Page 31 - Plastics News August 2022

Thin-Wall Injection Molding Breakthrough For Rpet Lactalis Nestlé Opts For

Repsol’s Reciclex Material
For Dairy Bottles

actalis Nestlé, a major producer
Lof yoghurt and dairy desserts,
has announced that it is transition-
ing to the use of recycled plastic in
the packaging for two of its brands.
or the first time, thin-walled production cell. The special feature in
Fcontainers made of PET, specifically this application is the material. The thin- The company entered into an agree-
ment with Repsol under which,
recycled PET (rPET), can be produced in walled containers are produced directly since June, the Repsol has supplied
a single injection-molding process step. from rPET in a single step. its Reciclex mass-balanced recycled

In cooperation with partners Alpla Until now, it has only been possible to material to Logoplaste in Guadalaja-
Group, Brink Recycling, IPB Printing, process PET in thick-walled parts such as ra in Spain, for the production of the
chilled dairy product bottles used by
injection molding machine manufacturer bottle preforms in injection molding. In Lactalis Nestlé for its Nestlé Kefir
Engel is presenting a step forward for that standard process, the final packaging brand in Spain and Portugal and the
the packaging industry at K 2022 by format was created in a second step of Yoggi brand of drinking yogurt mar-
processing recycled material, rPET, at its the process — by blow molding, for keted in Portugal.
stand. Featured will be anEngel e-speed example. The chemically recycled food-grade
injection molding machine with a newly Under the European Plastics Pact, the PE material is based on plastic waste
that could not be mechanically re-
developed and extremely powerful intent is for all plastic packaging to cycled. The entire value chain, from
injection unit. contain 30% recycled material and to be Repsol as the supplier of the mate-

Featuring a wall thickness of 100% recycling capable by 2025. Typical rial, through Logoplaste, the manu-
0.32mm/0.013 inch, the transparent, materials used for packaging foods in facturer of the bottles in the Lac-
talis Nestlé factory in Guadalajara
round 125-mL containers are thin-walled containers are polyolefins (Spain), and Lactalis Nestlé, as the
representative of a whole category of (polyethylene, polypropylene) or entity responsible for the product
plastic packaging, especially in the food polystyrene. and the filling of the containers in
industry. However, experts believe it's impossible Guadalajara, is ISCC PLUS certi-

An Engel spokesperson tells PlasticsToday to achieve the stated objectives using PE, fied, ensuring the traceability of the
recycled materials used throughout
that, among others, “the [rPET] cups can PP, or PS. the process. The Nestlé Kefir range
be used for food products such as dairy Also, recycling schemes for these bottles produced in Guadalajara
products, gourmet salads, or sandwich materials lack the approval of the (Spain) for Spain and Portugal are
spreads.” European food authority, European made with 30% recycled material;
the material used for the Yoggi brand
With the use of integrated in-mold Food Safety Authority (EFSA). rPET drinking yogurt bottles, marketed
labeling (IML), the containers are offers a solution for avoiding penalties in Portugal, contains 10% recycled
ready-for-filling as soon as they leave the and special taxes. Although the price for content.

31 PLASTICS NEWS August 2022