Post-consumer and post-industrial PET
Basically, a distinction is made between two different types of base products in rPET production: post-industrial PET and post-consumer PET. Post-industrial PET is PET that is left over during the manufacture of PET products and is then processed into rPET through a recycling process. Post-consumer PET is used plastic that is created by us as end consumers. This includes, for example, beverage bottles and packaging.
The use of post-consumer PET for the production of rPET with food contact is currently still problematic. Due to the various impurities, such as printing ink, banderoles and other remnants, rPET can usually only be used for the layer of a packaging or bottle that is not in direct contact with the food. This is also the reason why food packaging is usually only partly made of post-consumer PET. Post-industrial PET-based rPET, on the other hand, can completely replace conventional PET.