EU Design Guidance: PET Rigid
| EU Design Guidance Summary: PET Rigid | |||
| Author of Guidance | RecyClass | ||
| Link to guidance | Design for Recycling Guidelines | ||
| Date of update issued by country | September 2022 | ||
| General info | Clear Bottle refers to Transparent colorless/light blue PET bottles; Colored bottle refers to Transparent colored PET bottle; Clear Tray refers to Transparent colorless PET tray | ||
| Criteria | Yes - Full Compatibility | Conditional - Limited Compatibility | No - Low Compatibility |
| Definition of Criteria | Materials that passed the testing protocols with no negative impact OR materials that have not been tested (yet), but are known to be acceptable in recycling | Materials that passed the testing protocols if certain conditions are met OR materials that have not been tested (yet), but pose a low risk of interfering with recycling | Materials that failed the testing protocols OR materials that have not been tested (yet), but pose a high risk of interfering with recycling. |
| EVOH % in Resin | None |
Colored Bottle: EVOH multilayer with <3 wt% EVOH and no tie layers |
Clear bottle and Clear Tray: Any EVOH Colored bottle: EVOH multilayer with >3wt% EVOH or with tie layers |
| Barrier Layers or Fillers (other than EVOH) |
Clear bottle: SiOx plasma coating Colored bottle: SiOx plasma coating, Carbon plasma-coating; PA-MXD6 multilayer with <6wt% PA-MXD6 and no tie layers; PTN alloy Clear Tray: PET based oxygen scavenger without yellowing effect after EPBP oven test |
Clear bottle: Carbon plasma-coating; PA-MXD6 multilayer with <5wt% PA-MXD6 and no tie layers; PGA multilayer; PTN alloy Colored bottle: PA-MXD6 multilayer with <6wt% PA-MXD6 including tie layers; Monolayer PA-MXD6 blend; PGA multilayer Clear Tray: PET based oxygen scavenger with limited yellowing effect after EPBP oven test |
Clear bottle: PA-MXD6 multilayer with >5wt% PA-MXD6 or with tie layers; Monolayer PA-MXD6 blend Colored bottle: PA-MXD6 multilayer with >6wt% PA-MXD6 Clear Tray: Items compacted < than 2 cm |
| Label or Sleeve Material and Surface Area |
Clear and Colored bottle: Labels/Sleeves in PE; PP; OPP; EPS; foamed PET (all with density <1 g/cm³), with a size that does not hinder* the recognition of the underlaying PET-polymer * indication label size of bottles > 500 ml: < 70% coverage * indication label size of bottles ≤ 500 ml: < 50% coverage Clear Tray: Labels in PE; PP; OPP (all with density <1 g/cm³ and also in the more heavily printed area), with a size that does not hinder* the recognition of the underlaying PET-polymer * indication label size of trays: < 30% coverage |
Label [Clear and Colored bottle]: Lightly metallized labels; Paper labels without fiberlosses; Pressure-sensitive labels Sleeve [Clear and Colored bottle]: Full sleeves translucent for IR detection in PE; PP; OPP; EPS; foamed PET; LDPET; all with density <1 g/cm³ INTERIM: Twin-peforated sleeves for household and personal care conform guidelines by European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP) Label [Clear Tray]: BPA-free paper labels without fibreloss during recycling process |
Clear and Colored bottle: Labels which hinder the recognition of the underlaying PET-polymer (e.g. too large, metalised, heavily inked); Labels with density >1 g/cm³ (e.g.PVC; PS; PET; PETG; PLA); Metallized labels; Non-detaching or welded labels; Paper labels with fibreloss; Foamed PETG labels (even with density <1 g/cm³); PET labels with washable inks Clear Tray: Plastic labels with density > 1 g/cm³ (also in more heavily printed and glued area); Paper labels with fibreloss during recycling process; Paper labels containing BPA; Non floating paper labels |
| Caps/Closures |
Clear and Colored bottle: PE (with density <1 g/cm³); PP (with density <1 g/cm³) Clear Tray: Unprinted PET; Floating plastics with density < 1 g/cm³ and easily removal from the tray and without glue residuals; Foamed PET based films where foamed structure is not getting destroyed at 90°C; SiOx and AluOx plasma for barrier |
Not provided |
Clear and Colored bottle: Materials and blends with density >1 g/cm³ (e.g. highly filled PE, metals,…); Non detaching or welded closures Clear Tray: Any other film |
| Adhesives |
Clear bottle: Alkali/water releasable adhesive at 60-80°C without reactivation Clear Tray: (for label) 100% removable adhesives leaving no adhesive residuals on flakes at 70°C (for other parts) Alkali/water soluble or alkali/water releasable adhesive at 60-80°C without reactivation |
Clear and Colored bottle: Hot-melts; Clear Tray: 100% removable adhesives leaving no adhesive residuals on flakes at 85°C |
Clear and Colored bottle: Alkali/water soluble adhesive; Alkali/water non-soluble or non-releasable adhesive at 60-80°C Clear Tray: All other adhesive |
| Liners, Seals and Valves |
Clear and Colored bottle: PE; PE + EVA; PP; foamed PET (all with a density < 1 g/cm³) |
Clear and Colored bottle: Silicone with density <0.95g/cm³; Floatable TPE |
Clear and Colored bottle: Materials with density >1 g/cm³ (e.g. PVC, silicone, metals) |
| Colors and Inks [combine Inks/Direct Printing & Pigments] |
Color [Clear bottle and Clear Tray]: Transparent clear; Transparent light blue; Color [Colored bottle]: Transparent light colors Ink [Clear and Colored bottle, Clear Tray]: Non-toxic (according to EUPIA guidelines) Printing [Clear and Colored bottle, Clear Tray]: Laser marked print |
Color [Colored bottle]: Transparent dark color Printing [Clear and Colored bottle, Clear Tray]: Production or expiry date |
Color [Clear bottle]: Other transparent colours; Opaque; Fluorescence; Metallic Color [Colored bottle]: Opaque; Fluorescence; Metallic Color [Clear Tray]: Opaque; Other transparent colours; Metallic Inks [Clear and Colored bottle]: Inks that bleed; Toxic or hazardous inks; Metallic inks Printing [Clear and Colored bottle, Clear Tray]: Any other direct printing |
| Size |
Clear and Colored bottle: >= 4 cm (compacted); <= 5 liter content Clear Tray: Items compacted >= 5 cm |
Clear Tray: Items compacted < 5 cm and >= 2cm |
Clear and Colored bottle: < 4 cm (compacted); > 5 liter content Clear Tray: Items compacted < than 2 cm |
| Metalized layers or Metals | Not provided |
Clear bottle: Lightly metallized labels |
Clear and Colored bottle: Metallized labels; Metallic inks/pigment; Metal components |
| Additives | Not provided |
Clear and Colored bottle:
UV stablilisers; Acetaldehyde (AA) blockers; Optical brighteners; Oxygen scavengers Clear Tray: UV stablilisers; AA blockers; optical brighteners; antiblocking masterbatch (> 3%); anti-stat agents; antiblocking agents; anti-fogging agents (on coating area) |
Clear and Colored bottle, Clear Tray: Bio-/oxo-/photodegradable additives; Nanocomposites |
