India’s first rPET bottles produced using Starlinger’s recycling line

Beverage company Coca-Cola India recently launched its new 100% rPET bottle for water – a significant milestone as it is the first time that a packaging made of 100% recycled plastic is used for food or beverages in India. The food-grade rPET for the new bottles is produced by Srichakra Polyplast (India) Pvt Ltd on Austrian machinery maker Starlinger’s PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line at its facility in Hyderabad.

Coca-Cola India uses the new rPET bottle for its packaged drinking water brand Kinley, which is currently sold in 1 l bottles. The launch of the rPET bottle became possible after the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) approved the use of recycled PET in food packaging, following a thorough review of the material regarding food safety and compliance with its guidelines.

In a press statement, Enrique Ackermann, Vice President Technical and Innovation Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, said, “Aligned with our vision of creating a World Without Waste, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute towards creating a circular economy. We are proud to be the first beverage company in India to offer our consumers a sustainable choice of packaging by launching Kinley bottles made from 100% recycled PET. Our new bottles made with food-grade rPET have value beyond their initial use, as they are fully recyclable and can be repurposed into new bottles. This is also an endeavour on our part to complement the Government of India’s ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ (translated: Clean India Mission) initiative.”

The Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 iV+ PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line at Srichakra’s production facility in Hyderabad, Telangana State, has taken up production in 2021 and was the first bottle-to-bottle recycling line Starlinger installed in India. It features technology for processing post-consumer PET bottles and has positive scientific opinions from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and approvals from FSSAI.

The produced rPET pellets are suitable for food-contact and can be used for food and beverage packaging like bottles for water and carbonated soft drinks, food trays, etc. The use of recycled plastics helps to reduce the need for virgin plastics significantly and avoids plastic waste going to landfills or polluting the environment.

“We are proud to supply the recycled PET resin for India’s first beverage bottle that is made from 100% rPET,” said Ravindra PV, Managing Director at Srichakra Polyplast. “With Starlinger’s PET recycling process, which has received positive opinions from EFSA and approvals from FSSAI, we ensure thorough decontamination of the PET in the recycling process and produce food-safe rPET pellets for PET bottle preform production and other types of food packaging.”

Founded in 2010, Srichakra Polyplast is an end-to-end recycling and plastic waste management company.

It has already ordered another two Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling lines which will be delivered beginning of 2024, said Starlinger, which is a division of Austria-based Starlinger & Co GmbH, that supplies complete lines for woven plastic packaging production.

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