Page 62 - Plastics News December 2025
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IN THE NEWS
of machinery suppliers & PET resin manufactur- the food contact applications is also being made
ers. There are 1000 plus RVM machines installed effective for implementation. The draft amend-
all-over India. The objective has been to sensi- ment regulations are in process of approval by
tize both the public & decision makers on the BIS and its notification in the near future. The In-
need for recycling and to create an awareness dia’s regulatory landscape is evolving to support
in the minds of decision makers about the vast technologies for production of food – contact
recycling ecosystem existing for PET recycling grade rPET resins. Under the amended Plastic
in India. Waste Management Rules, Producers, Import-
ers, and Brand Owners (PIBOs) are mandated to
Regulations: In India, Bureau of Indian Standards include a minimum percentage of recycled plas-
(BIS) frames standards for different packaging tic content in their packaging. For rigid plastic
materials and end-uses including recycled res- packaging, which includes PET bottles & con-
ins. For e.g., IS 14534: 2023 covers guidelines for tainers, recycled content requirement is @ 30%
the recovery & recycling of plastic waste and IS for FY 2025–26 & increasing upto 60% by 2028–
14535: 1998 is the BIS for using recycled plastics 29. This regulatory push aligns with the capabili-
for the manufacturing of different products fo- ties of different technologies & creates a robust
cusing on non-food sectors. The use of ‘RPET’ in market demand for high-quality recycled PET
‘Food and Beverages’ end-uses was not allowed for food-grade applications.
till recently in India.
RPET for Food-Contact Packaging (B-to-B res-
FSSAI had come out with ‘Draft Food Safety and in): Technologies
Standards Packaging (Amendment) regulations’
for use of recycled plastics in ‘22 as food contact 1. Mechanical Recycling (Super Clean Process)
materials based on PWM rules 2021. They have 2. Melt-In Recycling
now come out with Guidelines for Acceptance of
‘’Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) as 3. Paste-In Recycling
Food contact material (FCM-rPET)”. The scope 4. Chemical Recycling &
of this guideline pertains only to the recycling
process/operation of transforming post-con- 5. Bio-Chemical Recycling (Enzymatic recy-
sumer PET used for food applications into recy- cling)
cled PET as Food contact material (FCM-rPET)
resins suitable for making food contact materi- Mechanical Recycling
als. It covers the acceptance criteria for using The mechanical recycling process for rPET for
(FCM-rPET) resin in food contact materials. It ap- non-bottle uses involves ‘Sorting & Washing’. In
plies only to the recycling technology approved B-to-B resin, flakes further go through decon-
by FSSAI. It does not apply to production of res- tamination, SSP & granulation for use in bottles
ins for non-food grade consumer applications.
for direct Food Contact applications. The ‘Su-
Thus, approved guidelines & acceptance crite- per Clean’ mechanical recycling for rPET is the
ria for use of recycled post-consumer PET for conventional recycling process, which has been
62 PLASTICS NEWS December 2025
