Nonmetallics

The Plastics Environmental Division of The Society of Plastics Engineers, Brookfield, Conn., has recognized EREMA Vacurema technology with its "Enabling Technologies in Processes & Procedures" award. The award was presented at the Marriott Renaissance Center, Detroit, in February.

EREMA’s Vacurema is an FDA-compliant, bottle-to-bottle recycling system designed to transform washed post-consumer PET bottle flake into near virgin quality, food-contact-grade pellets for bottle production or inline thermoformable sheet.

Michael Horrocks, EREMA North America vice president of sales and marketing accepted the award on behalf of EREMA GmbH of Linz, Austria.

"We are delighted to be recognized by the Plastics Environmental Division of The Society of Plastics Engineers. We are especially pleased to be recognized for our ‘enabling’ technology," Horrocks said. "EREMA’s developmental philosophy has always been to make recycling both practical and profitable for processors. Our adherence to these principles allows us to offer technology that enables processors to be both more efficient and, at the same time, more environmentally responsible."

EREMA develops and manufactures machinery in Austria for the worldwide recycling market. EREMA North America Inc. distributes EREMA machinery and provides complete service and close technical support. An extensive parts inventory is maintained at its Ipswich, Mass., headquarters.

Petcore, a European non-profit trade association fostering the economic collection, recovery and recycling of post-consumer PET containers in Europe, has released the results of its test on recyclable barrier technology.

Last year Petcore published its "Guidelines and Test Protocols" for additives and barrier materials, which assesses the recycling properties of these technologies. Beverages such as fruit juices, dairy products, beer and even some carbonated soft drinks rely on enhanced barrier properties now available. Petcore’s guidelines offer product developers a tool to assess the recyclability profile of their barrier solutions.

The first results are available and show that the Glaskin and Bestpet barrier materials passed the tests.

Dr. A. Opschoor, technical director and member of Petcore’s Expert Evaluation Committee, says, "Products that pass this rigorous test regime can be recycled using existing recycling practices without any difficulties."

Petcore’s Expert Evaluation Committee has also reached a verdict on shrink and stretch sleeves. "Sleeves are a fantastic tool for brand owners to expand their abilities to reach out to their consumers," Opschoor says. "However, using the wrong materials could also render the PET container utterly un-recyclable."

In light of its test results, Petcore has urged that oriented polystyrene (OPS) sleeves should be banned from the European PET bottle market. Frank Koelewijn, director general of Petcore, places this decision in the context of current recycling practices. "OPS sinks in water float-sink tanks used in PET recycling processes, together with the PET flakes. From then on, it becomes very difficult to remove OPS," he says.

"Experiences during spinning and blow molding of recycled PET where OPS was present resulted in noxious fumes, and workers refused to process the material. That shut the door," Koelewijn adds.

According to Petcore, PET recycling processes in Europe differ from those in the United States and Japan. Virtually all European plants use wet grinding, making it very difficult to sort out those polymer films and labels that do not float in water. In the United States and in Japan, most PET recycling plants are based on dry grinding processes, making it relatively easy to remove the films from the PET using air separation.

Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies Inc., Springdale, Ark., has announced financial results for the year ended Dec. 31, 2003. Net sales were $43.5 million compared to $41.4 million in 2002—an increase of 5.1 percent. Net loss before extraordinary item for 2003 was $942,000 compared to net income of $915,000 for 2002.

"The company has experienced significantly higher petrochemical-related raw material costs this year as compared to prior periods," AERT Chairman Joe Brooks says. "Our company’s previous inability to recycle the majority of our scrap plastics in-house hurt margins and reduced profits significantly this past year. AERT has initiated a program designed to significantly increase in-house plastic recycling capacity at our Springdale, Ark.; Lowell, Ark.; and Alexandria, La., facilities, in order to reduce raw material costs during 2004."

Brooks also says that AERT’s Junction, Texas, facility is currently undergoing rebuilding and adding composite production, which should be operational by June.