Currently, PET is the most widely used material for beverage packaging. And although there is a lot of talk about its further recycling and circularity, even in Europe the actual percentage of PET recycled is very small compared to its use. And only the lazy don’t talk about microplastic pollution now. And it is logical that many are looking for alternatives to PET.
Moreover, the requirements for an alternative material are very high: not only must it be suitable for recycling and use, but it is also desirable that the material is biodegradable, made from renewable raw materials that do not contain fossil fuels, is neutral to CO2 emissions, and does not compete with food products or feed, and its processing was cheaper than processing PET.
And oddly enough, there are materials that meet these selection criteria and in the near future may become a real alternative to PET.
The first material is PLA or PolyLactic Acid. Currently produced from corn or sugar cane. But there are already developments in the production of PLA from paper and textile processing, from algae and even from methane and CO2. It is recyclable, cheaper than PET, and is also biodegradable. In addition, PLA is broken down by the human body without consequences, so it is often used in medicine. It is great for making bottles for still water, juices, and dairy products, but is not at all suitable for sodas.
The second good alternative to PET promises to be PEF or PolyEthylene Furanoate. It is currently made from crops, but the glucose it uses can also be made from paper pulp, such as tree sawdust. PEF even has better oxygen and water vapor barrier properties than PET, making it an excellent material for carbonated beverage packaging. PEF has excellent mechanical and chemical recyclability. Its only disadvantage is that it is not biodegradable, but even if it is simply thrown away, it will last significantly less than PET.
The third material we will talk about is PHAs (PolyHydroxy Alkanoates). These are natural materials similar to cellulose, starch or proteins. They are produced by microorganisms from any possible biomass or waste residues, sewage sludge or even methane. The material's properties are similar to PE or PP, but unlike the latter, it is not based on fossil fuels, is recyclable and biodegradable. Moreover, it decomposes in nature even better than cellulose. In fact, PHAs are already used to produce still water bottles. It is also suitable for packaging any non-carbonated drinks with a short shelf life.
As we can see, real alternatives to PET exist. And a huge number of people are working on their improvement and the economic feasibility of their introduction into production. With a high degree of probability we can say that the era of PET in beverage packaging is coming to an end.
Materials used from packagingeurope.com.