How to recycle plastic bottles into environmentally friendly items - the importance of RPET?

 Free water bottles are a thing now. It seems like someone at every conference, fitness class, or speaker series is handing you a bottle the second you walk in. Sure, it’s a nice perk, and you get something to drink while you’re dozing off in your chair. But have you ever considered what on Earth (literally) happens to these bottles once you’re done guzzling that water?

 

Chances are, those free water bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a type of polyester fabric. While PET isn’t great for the environment--it’s costly to produce, made from crude oil, and uses up a lot of energy to manufacture--it does have one great quality: it’s highly recyclable. rPET is the recycled version of your average water bottle, and, like a new iOS, it’s incredibly better than its PET predecessor in a multitude of ways.

 

Way more eco-friendly, rPET is like a second chance for synthetic materials. A second chance toward reducing landfills, lowering PET’s carbon footprint, and making a sustainable choice for the planet. As a leader in sustainability, Super Clean is passionate about innovative ways to respect and care for the land. This article will lay out the process of creating rPET so that you can evaluate where it may figure into your sustainability goals. For businesses, rPET can be a greener solution to breakroom and office supplies. Eco-friendly products made from rPET textiles also make responsible company swag, corporate gifts, Earth Day gifts, and promotional items. Along with other solutions like renewable energy and resources and clean manufacturing processes, rPET can be part of a comprehensive sustainable vision. Below, find out what rPET is and what it can do for you.

 

From PET to rPET: recycling everyday plastics into new treasures

Whenever you grab a plastic water bottle on the go, chances are it’s made of PET. PET (which stands for polyethylene terephthalate) is a lightweight, resin-based polyester. It’s made by processing and melting crude oil and natural gas, which can then be spun into fabrics or molded into plastic containers. Once PET products have been used, they can be recycled and revamped. This reprocessed PET is known as rPET or recycled PET, and it can be transformed into a range of everyday products like reusable grocery bags, bedding, and even clothing. Most importantly, it can be turned back into new bottles that can be recycled again and again, unlike other items that will end up in a landfill at the end of their useful life. Eliminating the need to produce new plastic: that’s the difference between second life and re-cycle of life… For a list of products made of recycled materials, visit www.supercleanpet.com.

 

Related News:What Is rPET?

 

The rPET process: from a water bottle to a winter coat 

Did you know that your water bottle from the corner store can be turned into fabric to make your winter coat? This transformation process involves collecting the water bottles, compressing them into bales and transporting them to a recycling facility. There, the bales are broken apart and the PET is sorted from other plastics. The PET is then crushed into small flakes and put through another separation process to clean it and get rid of any remaining contaminants or toxins. From there, the flakes are dried, cooled and chopped into tiny pellets, which can then be further processed and/or melted to create new packaging or fibers for clothing, blankets and a range of other materials.

 

The clean benefits of rPET bottles

It feels good to know you’re using recycled products. But rPET bottles have a bunch of other benefits, too.  

 

A. Sustainability

rPET leaves a smaller carbon footprint. It’s 100% recyclable, from the cap and bottle right down to the label. Not only can it be cleaned and reused, it can also be recycled over and over again. By recycling PET, we cut down on waste in landfills and reduce the need to create virgin PET, which takes a toll on our natural resources. Creating a plastic water bottle from 100% recycled material uses 75 percent less energy than creating new PET. Why use single-use plastics when rPET offers a more sustainable option for our planet?

 

B. Durability

Made from recycled plastic, rPET is a strong, flexible, lightweight, chemical-resistant, safe and shatterproof packaging solution. Just as strong as their PET counterparts, rPET bottles are built to last so you never have to worry about knocking them off the table.

 

The infinite possibilities of rPET

Besides plastic water bottles, you’d be surprised to learn what recycled plastics can become. More and more companies are using rPET to make their packaging and a range of other things, contributing to a more sustainable future.Another surprising use of rPET materials is in the creation of recycled fibers worldwide. The automobile, textile, telecommunications, and home furnishings sectors benefit from rPET production since rPET fabric can be used to make pillows, blankets, mattresses, insulation products, and car seats. rPET has even been made into food packaging, shoes, clothing, and reusable shopping bags.

 

Is Using rPET Better for the Earth?

 

rPET is incredibly sustainable because it uses 85% less energy to manufacture and 90% less water to produce as compared to PET products. The creation of rPET material also emits 90% lower carbon emissions compared to PET products. Finally, rPET bottles are 100% recyclable, including the bottle, label, and cap, which lessens landfill usage and cuts down on overall pollution of the environment.

 

The use of rPET products also leads to some indirect yet positive effects on the environment. rPET bottles are lighter than glass bottles, which means they reduce the use of fuel when being transported. As a result, increased usage of rPET leads to fewer CO2 emissions being transmitted to the environment.

 

Most importantly, the existence of rPET products means we aren’t just throwing PET bottles away but are recycling the material into a new and useful commodity instead. rPET recycling gives us the opportunity to take better care of the environment and make a difference in our carbon footprint before it’s too late.

 

Advantages of using rPET

It goes without saying that rPET definitely lends us a hand toward conserving resources and lessening the strain on our environment. Here are some more benefits of using rPET products:

 

a. Eco-Friendly. It takes less energy to recycle and produce an rPET bottle than to manufacture a PET bottle. The process of converting rPET uses much less energy than aluminum, glass, and other commonly used materials. It also leads to more conservation of raw materials and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 65%.

 

b. 100% Recyclable. rPET bottles can be recycled over and over again in their entirety. This makes rPET one of the most sustainable choices a company can make for bottling water.

 

c. Versatile. As we hinted above, rPET isn’t only used to manufacture eco-friendly bottles, but fiber as well. The production of fiber from rPET is worlds more environmentally friendly than that of natural fibers. Cotton crops need a huge amount of pesticides and fertilizers to grow well. They require even more chemicals to process. Organic cotton uses a high amount of energy and isn’t sustainable for the purposes of preserving the Earth’s resources. By measurement, rPET fibers are even more sustainable than organic hemp. rPET can also be used to make filling for jackets and sleeping bags, industrial straps, sheets and film, carpet fibers, and automotive parts.

 

d. Safe and hygienic. rPET has been approved by the FDA as being safe for packaging food and beverages. rPET has been used for years to make food and beverage packaging and is comparable to PET products.

 

e. Durable. rPET bottles are shatterproof. No need to worry about dropping an rPET bottle on the floor. It won’t make a mess like glass and will most likely stay intact, thereby reducing the chance of waste.

 

f. Lightweight. rPET material is as light as regular plastic and up to 85% lighter than glass. It takes 27 pounds of glass versus 2 pounds of plastic to deliver 1,000 ounces of a beverage!

 

g. Less strain on natural resources and air quality. It actually takes less energy to recycle and create an RPET bottle than to produce a virgin PET product. The lightweight, durable, and compact nature of rPET mean more products can be transported with less packaging and less fuel for transport. Not only does this save on paper, plastic, and fuel, but it also means fewer trucks on the road, which leads to less pollution in the air. Using rPEt means we become less dependent on petroleum as a raw material. It also encourages companies and consumers alike to put products back into the stream of recycling rather than dumping them after first use.

 

As you can see, PET resin is the most commonly used material in consumer goods today. Processing water bottles, food containers, and countless plastic items consume raw pet materials. In order to prevent more of these disposable items from eventually entering our landfills or oceans, we need to use the environmental recycling process to turn these post-consumption items into environmentally friendly and useful products, such as clothing, beverages, bags and other fabric-based materials made of RPET polyester.

 

Next time you need to buy stolen goods, Earth Day gift baskets, employee gifts, conference gifts or other promotional items, please consider choosing RPET environmental protection products. You will not only please your employees, customers, community members and other stakeholders with creative and useful items but also make a statement and make significant changes in protecting our planet for future generations.

 

i-PET--a trusted RPET Material Supplier:

Founded in 2003, i-PET is a national circular economy pilot unit and an executive director of China Packaging Federation. The company annually processes 50,000 tons of waste PET beverage bottles, and produces 30,000 tons of clean PET flakes and 20,000 tons of ultra-clean PET pellets. We have reliable strength and production capacity.

i-PET is an rPET manufacturer approved by the National Health Commission and the State Administration for Market Regulation for use in food contact materials. Its process technology and products have passed ISO9000, ISO14000, FDA, GRS and other certifications, and product quality is guaranteed.

Our automatic sorting system is provided by French Bellanco. The cleaning unit is imported from the Italian SOREMA company's complete production line for producing clean PET bottle flakes. The extrusion and solid phase tackifying unit adopts imported equipment and technology from Switzerland BUHLER company. We only use the most advanced and high-quality technical equipment.

Click here for free consultation and custom production services.