Erich Hussmann
The Starlinger recoSTAR super-cleaning technology turns PP beverage bottle caps into high-qulality rPP that can be used at levels up to 100 % in food-contact packaging. © Starlinger
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has newly released an NOL (No Objection Letter) for the polypropylene cap-to-cap recycling process on the Starlinger recoSTAR dynamic recycling system.
The NOL applies for the manufacture of bottle caps for beverages under Conditions of Use C to H. Bottle caps made of 100 % recycled post-consumer polypropylene produced on the Starlinger recycling system can thus also be used for hot fill applications.
The machine configuration for the approved recycling process includes a recoSTAR dynamic recycling extruder equipped with a C-VAC degassing module for highly efficient degassing, as well as the PCUplus unit at the end of the recycling process. The latter ensures permanent odor reduction and completes the removal of VOCs, which are important steps in the production of food-grade recyclates from post-consumer plastics.
“In the beverage industry, PP and HDPE are the materials mostly used for plastic bottle caps,” said Paul Niedl, Commercial Head of Starlinger recycling technology. “Already in 2021 we got the FDA LNO for our HDPE bottle-to-bottle and cap-to-cap recycling processes. Now we can close the loop also for beverage bottle caps made of polypropylene so that they can be returned to the recycling stream and be reused without downcycling.”