Bottles of Other Resins

Unpigmented bottles generally have the highest value and the widest variety of end-use applications. Therefore, the use of unpigmented resins in bottles is preferred to pigmented bottles.

Plastic closures made from PE or PP are preferred to all others. Also preferred, are closure systems that contain no liners and leave no residual rings, or other attachments, on the bottle after the closure is removed. The use of closures that are unpigmented or the same color as the bottle is desirable. The use of metal closures is undesirable and should be avoided as such closures are more difficult and more costly to remove in conventional reclamation systems compared to the preferred closure systems (PE or PP).

If tamper resistance is required in specific product applications, it should be an integral design feature of the bottle. The use of tamper-resistant or tamper-evident sleeves or seals is discouraged as they can act as contaminants if they do not completely detach from the bottle, or are not easily removed in conventional separation systems. If sleeves or safety seals are used, they should be designed to completely detach from the bottle, leaving no remains on the bottle. Shrink sleeves are preferred to adhered labels. Shrink sleeves made from PE or PP are preferred. The use of PVC sleeves or safety seals is undesirable and should be avoided. Foil safety seals that leave foil or remnants or attaching adhesive on the PP bottle should be avoided.

PE or PP label stock is preferred to all other label materials. Metallized labels increase contamination and separation costs and should be avoided. The use of PVC labels is undesirable and should be avoided. Paper labels are undesirable and should be avoided as they can increase contamination in the plastic regrind due to fiber and adhesive carry-over through the reclamation process. Full bottle sleeves should be so designed that automatic sorting equipment can properly identify the resin used to make the bottle.

Inks must be chosen that do not bleed color when agitated in water. Label inks that bleed can discolor plastic regrind in the reclamation process, diminishing or eliminating its value for recycling. The use of label inks that bleed should be scrupulously avoided. (The APR has developed a testing protocol to assist label manufacturers in evaluating whether label ink will bleed in conventional reclamation systems).

The use of “hot melt” adhesives is undesirable and should be avoided unless the adhesive readily separates from the plastic and does not cause problems in the reclaiming process. Label adhesives should be water soluble or dispersible at temperatures between 140 °F to 180 °F in order to be removed in conventional washing and separation systems. If adhesives are not removed efficiently, they may disperse on the plastic regrind and embed unwanted contaminants. The use of other adhesive types is discouraged and should be avoided. (The APR has developed a testing protocol for adhesive manufacturers to evaluate the impact of adhesive products in conventional reclamation systems). Adhesive usage and surface area covered should be minimized to the greatest extent possible to maximize bottle base resin yield and avoid contamination.

Some bottle designs require the use of layers for specific product applications. The use of layers made from materials other than the base resin is undesirable and should be avoided, unless they are compatible with or easily separable from the base resin in conventional recycling systems.

The use of any other attachments is discouraged, as they reduce base resin yield and increase separation costs. Other attachment may include handles, inserts and pour spouts, in addition to others that might be developed. The use of attachments should not be adhesively bonded to the bottle and must readily separate from the bottle in conventional reclamation systems. If attachments are added to a bottle, they should be made from the same material as the base resin or be otherwise compatible with the base resin in conventional reclamation systems. The use of attachments should be limited to the greatest extent possible.

The use of postconsumer content in bottles is encouraged, whenever possible.