Challenge accepted: PET recycling in Myanmar

Before new processes are established, an analysis of the current situation is usually carried out. For the recycling of PET bottles in Yangon, Myanmar, the Italian manufacturer SOREMA and the local recycler Commercial Plastics Co. did just that. After conducting washing and recycling tests on bottles collected there, SOREMA designed a flake production line with a capacity of 2,200 kg/h to recycle the material supplied by the customer and produce new bottles for beverages.

In an interview with K-MAG, Ottavio Previero talks about what makes recycling the collected bottles difficult, what solution SOREMA offers for this and how the cooperation went.

What are the challenges of PET bottle recycling in Yangon, Myanmar? What solution did you develop for this?

Ottavio Previero: The material analysis, conducted at SOREMA's RRC laboratory, verified that most of the incoming bales of material from the local market collection, consists of small bottles between 330 cc and 1000 cc with an elevated level of contamination from PVC labels, sand, and abrasive materials.

Effective removal of PVC labels has been brilliantly achieved with a combination of delabeler, wet elutriator, and material sorter. This technology achieves the highest standards required by major brand owners for their rPET.

As the SEA market is rapidly evolving from PVC labels to PP labels, we would like to emphasize the importance of SOREMA technology, which removes label glue with high efficiency.

How does recycling work with the machine you developed?

Previero: The machines have been carefully built with high-quality components, starting with the prewash module for label removal and optimal cleaning of the material surface. This technology prepares the material for better bottle sorting and reduces the overall wear and tear on the entire line, without compromising the lifespan of the delabeler, whose first maintenance is scheduled only after months.

To what extent do you contribute to greater sustainability with cooperation?

Previero: The engineering team of CPC worked closely with SOREMA's design, production, and installation teams and the collaboration was exceptional, both in terms of clarity of information and support in managing the recycling process. Sustainability, working side by side, is achieved because post-consumer PET bottles from collection throughout Myanmar are reused, once recycled, in high percentages in the production of new PET bottles. With SOREMA's plant, the client has thus provided an industrial-scale solution to the problem of plastic pollution in Myanmar.