What is RPET

Origin of RPET

If we want to discover RPET, we must know where PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) comes from. As mentioned in the previous blog of Your Ordinary Plastic, there are 7 classifications in the traditional grade table of plastic. The virgin oil-based plastic, PET is classified as number 1 resin code in the table and the most frequent and commonly used plastic in the family. It can be identified as number 1 inside the chasing arrow symbol.

Traditionally, exploration and extraction of crude oil and natural gas is the beginning of most plastics. After disrupting land and marine ecosystem by drilling for oil, polymer-based chain combination of ethylene glycol and terephthalic creates the world known PET.

RPET is an abbreviation for Recycled PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate). It is where waste from bottles, containers, and other PET based waste are collected, sorted, recycled, and reprocessed into a brand-new product. Depending on the level of RPET, it can be used for making food contact packaging, car parts, and even fashion items in clothes and shoes.

Process of RPET

Usually, PET post-consumer bottles are collected through various single-stream and dual stream approach programs, such as curbside recycling, recycling banks and recycling drives throughout towns and cities. Once all PET are collected, it would be sorted by recycling stations, compressed and packed into bottle bricks and shipped back to the material recovery center. The recycled materials have been initially selected, such as bottle caps and bottles, through preliminary sorting and distinction to create RPET. In the process of material recovery, the PET must go through a federally authorized vigorous 16 steps washing and pelletizing to ensure 100% contaminant free and safe to be classified RPET raw material for reuse. 

Why RPET?

There are 380 million tons of plastic produced each year and 50% are made for single use purposes. Today we are living among 7.3 billion tons of plastic waste because we forgot that some plastic can be around for 500 years. PET water bottles are told that it will take 450 years to decompose.

For each ton of plastic, 2.9 tons of oil is needed, and 2.4 tons of carbon emissions are generated.

When we recycle 530,000 tons of waste plastic annually, we can produce 400,000 tons of recycled plastic products. It can save a total of 1.53 million tons of oil and reduce 1.272 million tons of carbon emission each year. 

Today’s technological facilities can reduce 0.31 tons of carbon emission per ton of input mixed waste compared to virgin plastic facilities. Let alone, with the annual plastic collection of 530,000 tons of waste plastic may reduce 164,300 tons of carbon emission annually.

It is important to know the origin of the products used, whether they are from recycled material and if they would further harm our world. By being more aware and subconscious, we can start to move and reduce the impact on our planet.