The Canadian company said its HyPET 300 helps make PET packaging more sustainable by enabling “significant increases” in the amount of post-consumer recycled PET flake.
System spec
The 72 cavity HyPET Recycled Flake (RF) with High Performance Package, being showcased at the Drinktec show in Munich this week, is the “world’s first system specifically optimised for manufacturing performs with high percentages of food-grade PET”, said the firm. The system runs a blend of 50 per cent virgin and 50 per cent rPET, producing the company’s 34.7 gram EcoBase preform at the same 10.5 second cycle that would be expected running 100 per cent virgin PET.
Bottle quality can be improved thanks to its in-line melt filtration system which eliminates black specks and other contaminants. The system also includes a new extruder design for improved processing on pellet and flake blends, said Husky.
Carbon footprint reductions
“These features allow manufacturers not currently using recycled PET flake to introduce this material into their products,” said a company statement. “For those already using recycled PET, this can eliminate some of the current manufacturing and quality challenges.”
John Galt, company president and CEO, said: “Husky recognises the importance of sustainability in PET packaging, which is why we have invested in putting post-consumer flake back into the bottle.”
He added that recycled flake used to be challenging to work with but that Husky saw this as an opportunity to simplify the manufacturing process and reduce the overall cost and environmental footprint of PET packaging.
Amcor director of sustainability Dave Clark has backed the system.
“We appreciate that Husky is taking the initiative to make PET a more sustainable packaging option,” he said. “This new development will help make it easier to incorporate more recycled PET into the bottles we make and allow us to reduce our overall carbon footprint.”