The French firm said it is to invest more than ₤250,000 in a new mixing facility at its plant in Gresford in order to process 13,000 tonnes of rPET pellets annually supplied by AWS Eco Plastics. Under the agreement, the UK outfit will become the sole provider of the pellets.
The mixing of the rPET with virgin material takes place offline at the Welsh site before being introduced into APPE’s injection moulding machines. This means the company can produce containers with a recycled content that can be varied according to the needs of individual clients. Using pelleted rPET also ensures a high quality performance during the manufacturing process, said APPE.
The company presently produces a limited amount of 75 per cent virgin, 25 per cent rPET blend and the intention with the new mixing kit is to introduce a standard resin to this specification. However, APPE said the recycled content can be as high as 70-80 per cent if required.
APPE already supplies 100 per cent rPET bottles via its existing dedicated PET recycling plant in Beaune, France, but this is the first time it has been able to offer such an extensive use of rPET in its UK-manufactured preforms and containers.
The company said it had ability to increase production of its rPET preforms and containers depending on demand.
APPE said that all material is food-grade approved and offered the same level of performance regardless of the level of recycled content. It added the 25 per cent rPET container could offer almost identical levels of clarity and gloss to a 100 per cent virgin material version – although the potential for discolouration may be greater as the recycled content increased.
The new material will be available for all the markets that APPE serves. In addition to its established soft drinks and mineral water markets, the company is also developing a range of products in a variety of new sectors including food, wines and spirits, household products, personal care and pharmaceuticals.
“This is a major development which enables us to offer our customers a significant benefit in these environmentally-conscious times,” said APPE sales director George Hendry.
“Our rPET preforms and containers deliver all the proven advantages of PET as a packaging material, while meeting the demands of government, retailers and consumers to further reduce the environmental impact of packaging.”