This article virtually Fujairah’s Horizon Technologies past times Asfia Khan commencement appeared every bit the comprehend even inwards the Oct 2009 edition of Clean Middle East.Need of the Hour
Recycling of PET is the require of the hr for its many environmental together with sustainable packaging benefits.
Did yous know that almost all the major construct inwards the potable manufacture utilization recycled plastic inwards their packaging? I didn’t either until I visited Horizon Technologies, the entirely flora inwards the Middle East which is into bottle-to-bottle plastic recycling.
Against a background of non having verified the authenticity of fraudulent emails alert consumers non to reuse plastic H2O bottles available inwards the marketplace today for the fearfulness of carcinogenic substances similar dioxin leaching into the water, my coming together amongst the administration of Horizon Technologies was something of an eye–opener.
It was heartening to larn from the administration of Horizon Technologies that most convenience-size potable bottles sold worldwide are made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a textile approved past times the U.S.A. Food together with Drug Administration (USFDA) for utilization inwards nutrient together with potable packaging for both unmarried together with repeated use. In fact, the FDA has evaluated examination information nether circumstances that copy long-term storage together with back upwardly repeated utilization of PET bottles.
The danger to wellness must take maintain belike existed inwards the eighties, when mineral H2O was beingness bottled inwards other plastic bottles. When produced or burned, plastics release harmful gases which tin crusade wellness hazards.
However, farther progress inwards question together with evolution on plastics, has rendered PET, a wonder production which has clarity, pleasing aesthetics, together with most of import of all, it is a plastic which has been extensively tested for security when inwards contact amongst nutrient together with beverages.
As component division of its review, USFDA assesses the migration potential of plastics together with the substances amongst which they are made inwards monastic enjoin to constitute that at that topographic point is a minimal amount of transfer betwixt a plastic packet together with the nutrient it contains together with that whatsoever transfer does non pose a risk to human health. PET has been well-studied for toxicological properties together with for migration properties nether examination weather condition together with the results of these tests take maintain demonstrated that PET is prophylactic for its intended uses. PET also fulfils the European Union requirements for nutrient contact textile (Directive2002/72/EC).
Again, going dorsum to the fraudulent emails circulating the spider web these days, at that topographic point is only no scientific footing to back upwardly the claim that PET bottles volition release dioxin when frozen. Dioxins are chemic compounds that are produced past times combustion at extremely high temperatures, formed at temperatures good higher upwardly 700 degrees Fahrenheit; they cannot live formed at room temperature or at freezing temperatures. Moreover, at that topographic point is no reasonable scientific footing for expecting dioxins to live acquaint inwards plastic nutrient or potable containers inwards the commencement place.
Increasing Use of rPET past times International Brands
With the line clearly drawn betwixt fact together with fiction inwards damage of the security of utilization together with re-use of PET plastic inwards nutrient together with potable packaging, it is slow to consider why leading brands such every bit Coca Cola, Pepsi, Nestle, Danone, etc, decided to help inwards closing the loop for PET plastic recycling, particularly when recycled PET (rPET) has the potential of coming together the technical together with security requirements demanded past times the retail sector.
Like most plastics, PET is non biodegradable, together with if it were non to live recycled, precious landfill areas would before long live engulfed amongst growing mounds of waste. In a bid to make away amongst PET waste, the ingenious Japanese are trying to make release energy past times burning PET, for PET does non release toxic gases inwards the environs when it is burnt.
Having seen bales of plastic recyclables inwards domestic waste product sorting plants inwards Dubai together with Al Ain, I wanted to detect out know how this waste product was beingness processed inwards the UAE. This cry for ultimately led me to Horizon Technologies FZE, the entirely bottle-to-bottle recycling unit of measurement inwards the UAE, which converts used PET bottles into a hit of nutrient together with non-food grade recycled plastic.
The GCC has i of the highest per capita plastic wastage rates inwards the world. The UAE together with Kingdom of Saudi Arabia make the most waste product inwards the percentage every bit a trial of to a greater extent than disposable income, rising consumerism together with the increasing tendency of buying bottled H2O every bit opposed to drinking tap water. It is of no surprise together with so that the Oman-based Sabco Group which supplies bottled drinking H2O decided to laid upwardly a plastic recycling facility inwards UAE’s Fujairah emirate nether the banner of Horizon Technologies FZE.
Challenges to rPET production
I naturally assumed that plants such every bit the i laid upwardly past times Horizon Technologies would take maintain an abundance of raw textile beingness supplied to them on a regular basis. Apparently, that is non the case.
Even though the UAE marketplace consumes approx. 70-80,000 tons of PET resin per annum, the Horizon flora receives to a greater extent than or less 600-700 tons per calendar month of PET plastic bottles to live recycled, which is virtually 10-12 per centum of the country’s overall consumption. The flora has the capacity to recycle 2000 tons per month. For Horizon Technologies to component division to total capacity together with after constitute economically feasible operations, the flora should have optimum charge every day.
The reasons for this shortfall could live many. Not all the emirates of the UAE take maintain their ain sorting flora to procedure domestic solid waste, which agency that valuable plastic waste product is beingness sent to landfills. Secondly, plastic recyclable waste product is also beingness exported to other countries past times the few municipal waste product sorting plants inwards the UAE which leaves a fraction of the waste product behind to live processed past times plants such every bit Horizon.
To create total inwards the gap betwixt demand together with supply, the full general populace every bit good every bit the populace together with the someone sector tin gear upwardly to tackle this issue, which is genuinely a social crusade amongst a positive environmental impact for generations to come.
The number of plastic bottles recovered from identify waste product should live maximized. Local collection services require to live laid upwardly at strategic locations so that dropping of used plastic bottles becomes convenient for residents. While this exercise is beingness carried out inwards a few places across the UAE past times Dubai’s Tadweer, Sharjah’s Bee’ah, the Environment Company together with waste product administration service providers similar Dulsco etc, the full general population past times far remains unaware virtually the benefits of plastic recycling together with how they tin contribute towards environmental sustainability.
Greater attempt is hence required to encourage people to recognize the environmental benefits of recycling together with to consider how their ain actions are direct linked to the fact that they volition live able to purchase products amongst to a greater extent than sustainable packaging inwards the future. The environmental sustainable benefits are such that for every ton of recycled PET that is used to manufacture novel packaging, the release of 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide is saved.
Not entirely volition consumers live able to purchase to a greater extent than sustainable packaging amongst the utilization of rPET, but volition also live able to accept wages of cost benefits every bit good every bit cost savings inwards manufacturing are invariably passed downwards to consumers. RPET cost is universally tagged to Virgin cost together with at that topographic point is a differential betwixt the 2 giving users cost wages every bit good every bit argue to utilization RPET inwards their input. However, PCR producers, confront an uphill business inwards offering this differential due to lesser economies of scale every bit compared to resin producers together with high conversion cost.
All this is possible if the demand for recycled PET (rPET) increases inwards the region. If a strong dwelling solid marketplace is developed for rPET inwards the UAE solitary involving major retail brands, chances are that this volition laid the ball rolling to have to a greater extent than recycling inwards the region. This is precisely the form of positive footstep that leading brands such every bit Marks & Spencers, Tesco, Sansberry, etc, took to help UK’s plastics recycling industry.
If leading companies inwards the UAE commit themselves to using recycled plastic or rPET, whether completely or partially, it volition dot a growth inwards demand for rPET. The ideal province of affairs would live for every ton of PET recycled inwards the UAE to live position dorsum into packaging production. However, since Horizon Technologies is the entirely flora inwards the UAE which does bottle-to-bottle recycling, together with so far, none of the local companies take maintain volunteered to utilization recycled plastic for their products on a commercial scale, it is prophylactic to assume that non a unmarried ton of recovered or recycled plastic is going dorsum into production inwards the country.
Manufacturers of food, beverages together with consumer goods inwards the Middle East should recognize the fact that the utilization of recycled PET adds to the construct value of products fifty-fifty more. In countries where the utilization of recycled products is evident, consumers take maintain responded maxim that they felt would experience much amend virtually a production or manufacturer whose packaging was made using recycled plastic. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 survey conducted past times UK’s Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) inwards the early on stages of using recycled plastic found that 86 per centum of those surveyed felt it would live expert if packaging contained recycled plastic.
One of the challenges faced past times recycling plants such every bit Horizon is that the plastic waste product per bale is non uniform inwards consistency. The flora invariably receives few PVC bottles inwards a bale of PET bottles for it is hard for workers inwards waste product sorting plants to differentiate betwixt PET together with PVC bottles. PVC is a contaminant to PET recycling due to the many unlike toxic additives used to soften or stabilize PVC, which tin contaminate the recycling batch. In fact, a unmarried PVC bottle tin contaminate a recycling charge of 100,000 PET bottles. Worldwide statistics present that recycling of PVC is negligible, amongst estimates ranging from 0.1 to iii per centum of postconsumer PVC waste product beingness recycled.
However, the automated flora at Horizon Technologies uses applied scientific discipline that is geared to recognize together with eliminate PVC bottles from the bike so that entirely PET bottles are converted into PET flakes. This agency that the recovery of waste product is never a hundred per centum amongst sometimes the recovery charge per unit of measurement falling every bit depression every bit 40-50 percent.
Another deterrent to consummate recovery together with a expert procedure yield are bottles containing leftover contents together with other beverages which contaminate the launder water, a element which direct touching the cost of conversion. In addition, perfectly expert plastic bottles take maintain to live discarded if they incorporate metallic foils. In fact, consumer deportment tin play a rattling of import utilization inwards increasing the recovery charge per unit of measurement of recycling plants. People should realize that a footling aid taken inwards removing metallic foils together with throwing away the content earlier disposing bottles tin add together tremendous value to the recycling process.
The Actual Conversion Process
Horizon Technologies HPET sectionalization adopts the B+B German linguistic communication applied scientific discipline to offering construct clean PET construct clean flakes to live used inwards diverse industries together with the FDA approved Starlinger applied scientific discipline from Republic of Austria to make USFDA approved food-grade rPET chips. Currently, Horizon Technologies exports PET flakes exterior UAE where they are processed to manufacture fibre, sheet, strap, etc. Horizon’s rPET chips are exported to a gear upwardly marketplace inwards the Far East, the Asian Market together with the US, where they are used to manufacture nutrient together with potable packaging.
Horizon Technologies’ HorizonPET sectionalization manufactures bottles for local clients from the edible crude oil together with the detergents industries using virgin PET but the representative for recycling volition live won when rPET volition live involved inwards the manufacturing process. The flora is fully prepared to manufacture packaging bottles using a mixture of virgin PET together with rPET according to client specifications.
The actual conversion procedure is simple, withal involves the latest technology. It is fascinating to scout muddied plastic bottles beingness converted into absolutely construct clean PET flakes. Dirt together with dust covered bales of PET are fed into the feeding bay where they are de-baled inwards monastic enjoin to dislodge the bottles onto the conveyor system. At first, bottles which incorporate metallic foils are discarded, followed past times the choice of bottles based on their colour. Horizon produces bluish together with white coloured PET flakes, hence bottles of whatsoever other color also these are discarded.
The fully-automated organization together with so isolates together with removes PVC bottles spell retaining entirely PET bottles. Manual sorting also takes identify to consider that no PVC bottle gets processed. Before beingness sent to the crusher, the bottles overstep through a metallic sorter i time again. Once the bottles are crushed, the flakes are washed together with cleaned together with sent onwards to a floating tank where the PET flakes are separated from the PP material. The PET flakes are dried together with passed through a metallic separator unit of measurement for the concluding time, followed past times color separation whereby pure construct clean streams of white together with bluish coloured PET flakes are obtained.
The ready-to-market PET flakes are packed into Jumbo Bags amongst each bale beingness checked for consistency of lineament according to laid parameters similar color (lab values), clarity, cleanliness, strength, etc. Individual bags duly endorsed past times Horizon’s well-equipped Quality Control Lab are together with so offered for sale. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 sample from each purse is retained past times the lab till the client consumes products made from that bag.
For farther production of food-grade rPET chips, construct clean flakes are passed onto a pelletizer where the extrusion of pellets takes place, followed past times solid stating together with bagging.
Horizon Technologies’ eco friendly drive together with commitment to protect the environs needs to live lauded. The nutrient together with potable manufacturing manufacture along amongst FMCG manufacturing companies inwards the percentage require to wake upwardly together with accept wages of a world-class, bottle-to-bottle recycling flora acquaint inwards their midst. The retail every bit good every bit the packaging sector must come upwardly frontwards to provide a fillip to the region’s nascent, yet, promising plastic recycling industry.
Horizon Technologies remains unique inwards its capabilities to procedure PET products to make world-class, food-grade packaging textile to run into demanding international specifications ─ it is upwardly to the other industries to report the benefits of using recycled PET together with play their component division inwards safeguarding planet world together with her bounties.
Asfia Khan, Horizon Technologies Clean Middle East, Vol.2, Issue 4, Oct 2009.
Thanks to Asfia Khan the editor of Clean Middle East for permission to reprint this article.
More information tin live obtained from Clean Middle East.
Check out to a greater extent than information at Horizon Technologies.
Dr Geoff Pound
Geoff tin live contacted past times electronic mail at geoffpound(at)gmail.com on Facebook together with Twitter.