This case study showcases how collaboration across the plastics packaging value chain supports the redesign of shrink sleeves on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles to improve their recyclability in the food and beverage industry.
Material substitution is a practical and scalable pathway to address problematic PET, PETG and PVC shrink sleeves on PET bottles. Drawing on success stories from the South African (SA) Plastics Pact brand owners, floatable polyolefin material is identified as a redesign solution to shift away from problematic shrink sleeves. Polyolefins can maintain the functional and marketing benefits of shrink sleeves, while improving compatibility with existing PET recycling processes.
Key stakeholders who make or influence decisions about the design, manufacture, retail and recycling of PET food and beverage bottles will find this study relevant. These stakeholders include:
- Packaging designers and label manufacturers
- Brand owners and retailers (packaging and technical teams, marketing teams and sustainability teams)
- Collectors and recyclers responsible for the collection, sorting and recycling of PET bottles
- Government and regulators responsible for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations.
Taking action on problematic shrink sleeves on PET bottles
The SA Plastics Pact has identified PET, PETG and PVC shrink sleeves on PET bottles used in the food and beverage industry as a priority for elimination from the plastic-packaging value chain (read Phase 1 list of problematic and unnecessary items). These items currently represent the largest share by weight of priority problematic and unnecessary plastics being put on the market by SA Plastics Pact members.
Problematic shrink sleeve materials disrupt the PET bottle recycling process, causing facilities to reject technically recyclable bottles. These bottles then end up in landfills or as plastic pollution in the environment.
Floatable polyolefins offers a redesign solution
To operationalise Target 1 under the SA Plastics Pact, brand owners (such as Woolworths and SPUR Corporation) began the shift away from problematic shrink sleeves to a floatable polyolefin material that is compatible with PET bottle recycling. Floatable polyolefin sleeves include polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), which are viable substitutes for problematic shrink sleeve materials.
Scaling adoption to increase recycling
Early adopters of polyolefin shrink sleeves succeeded in this transition through close communication and collaboration between the value-chain role players, including packaging and label manufacturers, brand owners, retailers and recyclers. If private-sector stakeholders adopt polyolefin sleeves for PET bottles at a market-wide level, it will unlock the full range of circularity and financial benefits in the food and beverage industry.
Plastic Reboot – South Africa
This case study was conducted as part of the Plastic Reboot – South Africa project. Plastic Reboot focuses on upstream solutions – rethinking how we design, produce, and use plastic – before it ever becomes waste. Supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and co-led by UNEP and World Wildlife Fund US with implementation by UNDP and UNIDO, Plastic Reboot will help the food and beverage industry to shift away from single-use plastics and towards sustainable, circular solutions. Plastic Reboot – South Africa is one of the 15 global projects.
The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) is the national focal point while the national execution agency is WWF South Africa in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and GreenCape.
Plastic Reboot – South Africa aims to reduce the volume of plastic waste generated and leaked into the environment through implementing strategic circular interventions upstream and midstream in the plastic-packaging value chain in the food and beverage sector in South Africa.