PCR plastic packaging is a sustainable packaging solution currently gaining traction in the pursuit of limiting the environmental impacts of product waste. Many global leading brand owners have announced their sustainability commitments to incorporate PCR plastics by -. Before adopting this solution, you should consider the challenges you might face with PCR plastics. PCR is not a perfect solution, and it comes with its unique advantages and disadvantages. First, let us discuss the basics.
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PCR stands for Post-Consumer Recycled. Some people use PCR as Post-Consumer Resin. PCR plastics are end products of the recycling process from used plastics. There are many types of plastics in the market, but the most common PCR materials are high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The amount of polypropylene (PP) collected through recycling is less than HDPE and PET, making it less available as a PCR format. However, there are growing demands for PP PCR plastics along with HDPE and PET. The benefits of using PCR, such as reduction in total carbon footprints, and reduction of waste and use of raw materials, are already well known. However, it is vital to recognize the challenges of using PCR to make the right decisions. To understand the challenges associated with PCR, first, we must understand how it is made.
The most popularly used plastic recycling system, known as mechanical recycling, requires various steps, including sorting, cleaning, shredding, melting, and remolding. After the mechanical recycling process, used plastics become PCR resin used to manufacture plastic products once again.
&#; Degradation
Plastics are typically composed of polymers. The polymers have long-chain structures with various elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. During the recycling process, the polymer chains break down, resulting in degradation. This is why it is challenging to create packaging with 100% PCR with the same durability and performance as packaging manufactured from virgin resin. Most plastic can only be recycled a few times before it becomes unusable. There has been tremendous innovation around PCR, making it possible to develop 100% PCR packaging with good performance, such as the packaging used for Colgate-Palmolive dish soap. However, it is still one of the main hurdles associated with PCR.
&#; Impurity
In addition, not all recyclable plastics are recycled&#;quality matters. Plastics have not only different chemical and physical properties but also different applications. For these reasons, plastics that are collected contain various materials, sizes, shapes, and colors. Even though plastics go through an intensive sorting process, PCR resin can still result in some impurities. Therefore, recycled plastics generally must have good quality to be accepted for reprocessing. On top of the challenge of finding a steady supply of PCR, brand owners who wish to use such materials are also faced with ensuring that the supply they have found is of adequate quality.
Lastly, as mentioned above, the supply of PCR plastics cannot support the growing PCR plastic demand. According to Waste Management, 25% of materials that consumers place in recycling bins do not get recycled due to contamination. While many consumers understand the importance of recycling, there is a general lack of understanding on how to recycle products.
The chart below details how the US PCR markets have changed over the past five years, polyethylene or PET, and recycled PET or rPET.
In , China stopped importing about two billion tons of plastic trash each year. Quickly, the world realized the impact and size of our global waste issue. From to , governments implemented policies to reduce virgin plastic and brands committed to circularity goals. It is a good start but still detrimental to both supply and demand.
Current / Futuristic PCR Market:
Supply
Demand
This graph below showcases the plastics and resins index have been declining since October . This is caused by the inflation directed demand of the supply chain.
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In conclusion, PCR plastic is a great sustainable option. It is essential to be aware of the challenges and use PCR as one of the options to achieve sustainability goals. ZACROS has been in the flexible liquid packaging market for over 50 years. We have experience and knowledge about packaging as well as materials. We think beyond the packaging with our innovations. Contact us to learn more.
&#;Misalignment between PCR supply and demand.&#; Recycling Today.
&#;The Economic Case for Recycled Plastics Is Improving.&#; IndustryWeek.
&#;What Is PCR Plastic? The Pros and Cons of PCR Packaging.&#; thecarycompany.com.
Sustainability isn&#;t just a trend &#; it&#;s our responsibility. Not only is it the right thing to do, but we want to go about it as transparently as possible.
Throughout , we&#;re transitioning the housing of all our new products (and some of our best-selling products) to use 73-75% recycled materials. This will reduce plastic product housing CO&#; emissions by up to 67%. By transitioning our products from last year to incorporating 73-75% PCR materials, we saved an estimated 636 metric tons of CO&#; emissions. Great news, right? But with the term &#;recycled plastics&#; becoming more and more common, we thought we&#;d use this post to focus on the ins and outs of recycled plastics, and what this term really means. What are they, why do we use them, and how are they better for Belkin than the alternatives? Read on for the answers to all your questions!
At Belkin, sustainability is fundamental to our organisation, which is why we&#;re continually improving the products you love (and new products you&#;ll love in the future) by integrating PCR plastics and other low-impact materials into them. But what do we mean by &#;PCR&#;, and why is it an important part of the bigger picture?
In the context of plastics, &#;PCR&#; stands for &#;post-consumer recycled&#;. This means that when you&#;re ready to dispose of a product, instead of going to landfill, the plastic in the product is recycled into pellets. This allows it to be used again to make another product. In other words, PCR is plastic that&#;s made from plastic that already exists &#; although to make sure the plastic is still great quality after processing, the recycled pellets are often mixed with new (&#;virgin&#;) plastic.
There&#;s another important concept at play here, and that&#;s what&#;s known as the circular economy. This is the idea of keeping materials in use for as long as possible. This decreases our need to constantly source virgin raw materials, while also designing waste out of the system. This &#;closes the loop&#;, diverting materials from landfill, giving them a new life so they can be used again. There&#;s a great animation from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that explains this in more detail.
The circular economy mirrors the natural world, where materials are building blocks that form part of a continual cycle in which living things grow, die and return to the earth to grow again into something new. Taking this idea and applying it to manufacturing, we can see that recycling is a key part of the circular economy.
To reduce our dependency on the world&#;s natural resources for products that get disposed of in a few years, we need to recycle them into new products. Along the way, that means finding ways to process materials so that they can be used for other things, while maintaining their original quality. Quality is important &#; a charger that easily breaks after regular use could end up as e-waste quite quickly. Products that are built to last can continue to be used for much longer.
The circular economy lies behind our decision to transition all our applicable products to PCR plastic, both new and existing, instead of simply making a new line of products from this material and continuing to use virgin plastic as usual. In doing so, we can better contribute to the circular economy and make a much bigger impact on reducing waste and emissions.
PCR plastic isn&#;t the only type of recycled material out there, so what about the others? Here&#;s a look at some of the top contenders.
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