Petcore launches Plastic Aerosol Recycling Special Industry Group

This industry task force is therefore looking for ways to increase the recycling volumes of PET products from the household packaging waste stream.

In 2020, the Aerosol Dispenser Directive (ADD) will potentially allow plastic aerosols beyond 220 ml in Europe. “Currently, the capacity is restricted due to the fact that the ADD was written in a time when only brittle plastics were available. This led to the approach to treat plastics the same way as coated glass containers”, explains Chairman Johannes Burghaus the background of the new SiG. “With PET we have today an ideal plastic aerosol material at hand. That is why FEA, the European Aerosol Federation, started an approach to change the ADD and allow plastic aerosols beyond 220 ml capacity in 2008.”

As this will enable mass market instead of only niche production, the market volume of plastic aerosols is expected to increase. That will eventually lead to a higher amount of plastic aerosol packages in the collection, sorting and recycling systems in Europe. For this reason, FEA and Petcore Europe took the initiative to establish the Plastic Aerosol Recycling Special Industry Group (SiG) under the umbrella of Petcore Europe.

“FEA members will benefit from an effective and efficient recycling of plastic aerosols, supported by consumers. Moving towards a circular approach can only be achieved through joint action by all stakeholders from the value chain. FEA will support Petcore delivering tangible results.” commented Alain D’haese, FEA Secretary General.

The objective of the new SiG is in line with Petcore Europe’s voluntary commitment to grow the volume of recycled PET, also with more difficult recycling streams. “In line with the new European Plastic Waste Strategy, we need to enable a smooth entry of new plastic aerosol packages to the PET recycling stream”, explains Christian Crepet, Petcore Europe Executive Director, the SiG objective. “Design guidelines as well as suitable collection, sorting and recycling processes are needed in order to recycle plastic aerosol packages properly. Via this full value chain collaboration it is intended to make plastic aerosol packages fully recyclable in standard PET containers.”

FEA and Petcore Europe invite member and non-member companies to join the new taskforce. Participants need to be involved in the plastic aerosol value chain and are able to join via the ODR (Opaque and Difficult to Recycle PET containers) Working Group. The input of the following industry players is especially welcome:

• Brand Owners and Fillers
• Waste Manufactures and Green Dot Companies
• Sorting Companies
• Recycling Companies
• Bottle Suppliers
• Valve or Injection Molding Suppliers
• Resin Suppliers

“It is great to see the formation of this SiG under the ODR Working Group. We are seeking solutions for fast growing markets with current key priorities on opaque PET and full-body sleeve bottles and we anticipate the future of fast growing segments like plastic aerosols”, explains Gian De Belder, Chairman of the ODR WG. “By engaging the full value chain – currently the ODR WG has 54 members – we remain confident that we can find appropriate solutions.”