Page 82 - Plastics News August 2024
P. 82
PRODUCT NEWS
lack of end markets. In this respect, PET thermo- their concentration. However, there seemed to
forms fit the bill perfectly. be a lack of supporting evidence to corroborate
those assumptions as no robust data or research
After deciding that they wanted to work on ther- finding could be provided.
moforms, the first step taken by the CPT was
to discuss with PET recycling stakeholders to To fill that gap, the CPT designed a research
get an overview on the current state of affairs. project that would test the ability of a PET re-
The group soon realized that there appeared claimer to process different thresholds of PET
to be many conflicting viewpoints amongst the thermoforms and document the impact on both
industry on how to handle thermoforms. While process efficiency and output quality. The pro-
everyone seemed to agree there was a limit to ject management was handed to Michel Gos-
the amount that could be processed through ex- selin, a PET recycling expert, to kick-start this
isting PET recycling lines, the percentage men- research with the support of multiple Canadian
tioned was not consistent and many challenged PET reclaimers.
both the feasibility and viability of increasing
A practical approach (90%) was acquired from a MRF in California,
where PET thermoforms are positively sorted
The study tested three different bales with vary- out to produce thermoform-only bales.
ing concentrations of PET thermoforms. The
control sample (approx. 41% thermoforms on One truckload of each of the three samples was
total clear PET) consisted of commercially avail- then sent to a Canadian PET reclaimer with ex-
able bales that are considered representative of tensive experience in sorting and washing PET
standard residential curbside bales commonly bales. The trial was done on a washing line that
processed in Canada. The second sample (64%) was modified over the years to improve effi-
was acquired through EFS-plastics and contains ciency and specifically reduce the generation
a higher level of PET thermoforms. This material of fines, here defined as flakes under 1.7mm
came from a secondary sorting line which recov- (or 0.07 inches), specifically to produce sheet.
ers PET from non-PET bales. The third sample The material was processed through the sorting
84 PLASTICS NEWS August 2024
