KHS says it is moving closer towards a circular economy, with the introduction of its KHS PET bottle, which is stretch blow moulded and contains a glued-in bottle handle, with both bottle body and handle fully recyclable and made of rPET.
According to the company, the KHS PET bottle is more stable than the extrusion-blow-moulded polyolefin alternatives currently available on the market. Glued-in handles also require a simpler contour than the clip-in variety, which it says saves on material and at the same time increases efficiency in the stretch blow moulding process.
The development of the 2.3-litre PET bottle with a glued-in handle is the result of a one-and-a-half-year cooperation between KHS and Logoplaste Innovation Lab. The aim was to design a bottle specifically for home care products with the smallest possible carbon footprint, which aligns with their intention to support the industry’s strive towards greater sustainability.
“Our adhesive technology enables us to cut down on the amount of energy and material used in production and manufacture a container that’s both more stable and visually more appealing than the standard products currently available on the market,” said Sebastian Wenderdel, PET sales business development manager at KHS in Hamburg, Germany.
Wenderdel says direct comparison reveals that up to 30 per cent fewer resources are used in the manufacturing process, with 10 per cent in material saved over a clip-in handle. Instead of producing the bottle on an extrusion blow moulder as is common, stretch blow moulding it is particularly energy-efficient – a not inconsiderable advantage in view of the rising prices for energy and raw materials.
"In conjunction with preferential heating, KHS provides an extremely precise and reliable piece of plant equipment. This tried-and-tested, energy-efficient heating method permits homogenous distribution of the material during the stretch blow moulding process in plastic bottles with an irregular and complex design, thus lowering the number of resources used and boosting bottle stability. Neck alignment with millimetre accuracy as an optional component allows precise product dosing with the help of oriented spout caps. Furthermore, as the new PET bottle does not have any seams – as opposed to those on standard containers made of HDPE or PP – it has proved convincing in rigorous in-house drop tests," said Wenderdel.
When selecting a suitable adhesive, the design team drew on the years of expertise accumulated by KHS during the Nature MultiPack project. The container provides a further plus when it comes to product marketing. “The transparent PET material makes the product visible,” Wenderdel stated, adding that customers can have their very own bottle designed with the help of KHS Bottles & Shapes service program.
With the development of its new PET bottle with a glued-in handle KHS is moving closer towards a circular economy – and with this system intends to address manufacturers of home care products as well as food producers.
“We provide a circular container whose bottle body and handle consist of 100 per cent recyclate and are themselves fully recyclable. This is still fairly unusual for containers with an integral grip,” said Wenderdel.
“As PET is the plastic with the highest recycling rate worldwide, it is also more readily available on the market than materials such as HDPE or PP. These also have the disadvantage that unlike rPET they are not yet circular. “The growing demand for environmentally-friendly packaging and stricter legal requirements governing the use of recycled plastics are perfectly met by our latest development,” he concluded.
