In anticipation of a surge in the recycling of plastic aerosol containers, Petcore Europe, a Brussels-based PET value chain organisation, has now created a new “plastic aerosol recycling special industry group” (SiG).
The task force has been set up as Petcore expects the European Union to update its Aerosol Dispenser Directive (ADD) in 2020, potentially allowing for plastic aerosols beyond 220ml.
"Currently, the capacity is restricted due to the fact that the ADD was written in a time when only brittle plastics were available. This led to the approach to treat plastics the same way as coated glass containers", explained chairman Johannes Burghaus.
Noting that PET was the ideal material for plastic aerosol, Burghaus said the European Aerosol Federation (FEA) had already started an approach to change the ADD and allow plastic aerosols beyond 220ml capacity. As this will enable mass market production, said Petcore 12 Feb, the market volume of plastic aerosols is expected to increase, eventually leading to a higher amount of plastic aerosol packages in the collection, sorting and recycling systems in Europe.
The objective of the new SiG is to design guidelines as well as suitable collection, sorting and recycling processes which are needed for the recycling of plastic aerosol packages.
The full value chain collaboration is supported by FEA.