From Latin America to Asia, PET recycling is gaining in importance, and EREMA is positioning itself as one of the key technology suppliers in this field. The company focuses both on global development and on adapting solutions to the specifics of local markets, particularly in bottle-to-bottle recycling for food contact applications. At the core of its strategy is the assumption that circularity must be implemented regionally in order to limit additional CO2 emissions associated with the transport of secondary raw materials. In parallel, EREMA develops and improves its technologies, such as Vacurema and Vacunite systems, adapting them to the growing requirements for throughput, quality stability and operating costs in mechanical PET recycling. The company also sees growth potential in segments beyond bottles, including tray recycling and polyester textile recycling, which is intended to further expand application possibilities for PET recyclate in packaging and textile products.
Global strategy: think global, act local
Global sustainability targets are affecting the entire plastics industry, and PET recycling is one of the key components of these changes. Regulatory frameworks such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) are accelerating demand for food-grade PET recyclate. For brand owners, bottle-to-bottle recycling is no longer merely an option but an integral part of their sustainability strategies.
Christoph Wöss highlights a key condition for effective circularity.
"A true circular economy only works if the cycle remains in its own region. It is counterproductive to discuss recycling if we unnecessarily add to the CO2 emissions of rPET by transporting it over long distances."
This approach is at the core of EREMA's global strategy and the internationalisation of its plastics recycling solutions. The company has streamlined internal processes to accelerate international expansion, while at the same time emphasising the importance of locally adapted strategies that are consistent with its technology portfolio and corporate values.
Market outlook for PET recycling
Despite the currently challenging economic environment, Christoph Wöss takes a positive view of the medium-term prospects for the global plastics recycling market. He emphasises that the EREMA Group, with its technologies and solutions, covers the entire value chain of mechanical plastics recycling, which helps to support the competitiveness of customers even in a dynamically changing environment.
While the European market remains subdued, the Group has recorded positive momentum in Asia. Wöss also points to the growing importance of Latin America, particularly following his recent visit to Peru. In many countries in this region, EPR systems are already in place, recycling targets have been set and there are regulatory frameworks that enable the use of rPET in direct food contact. According to Wöss, the basic framework has been established there and the mood in the packaging industry is positive.
At the same time, he notes that industry in Latin America has repeatedly been affected by shocks related to high inflation, high loan interest rates and political instability. These factors influence the pace of investment in new recycling capacities, despite favourable regulatory conditions.
In the PET segment, India has been a very strong market in recent years. EREMA has sold many bottle-to-bottle systems there, including Vacunite installations. According to Wöss, the Indian market now appears to be at a certain plateau, while other countries in the Far East are beginning to gain in importance.
Beyond purely market dynamics, regulatory frameworks also play a key role. With regard to Europe, Wöss notes that regulations such as the PPWR offer a positive outlook, provided that the competitiveness of industry can be strengthened again. In his view this requires initiatives that combine ecological and economic objectives and reinforce the industrial base, such as the EU's Clean Industrial Deal. Wöss also welcomes the efforts of industry associations to ensure that only PET packaging material previously placed on the market in Europe counts towards recycling targets. He stresses that excluding imports from third countries can strengthen the European recycling sector in the long term.
EREMA technologies in PET recycling
EREMA has built a position as one of the benchmarks for PET recycling technology. Solutions such as Vacunite enable the production of food-grade rPET with high energy and process efficiency while meeting strict quality and safety requirements. Wöss points out that the company closely monitors market trends, and in recent years has focused on responding to demand for higher line throughputs and lower production costs.
The latest technological improvements include, among others:
- Modified SSP process which reduces nitrogen consumption by more than 40 percent, directly translating into lower operating costs.
- Glycol dosing unit optimised for PET enabling precise reduction of intrinsic viscosity (IV) by adding ethylene glycol after the EREMA vacuum decontamination reactor.
- QualityOn: Melt Colour a system for real-time colour measurement of molten pellets, which enables early detection of colour changes and maintains stable quality of the final product.
- New underwater pelletiser option which allows customers to choose between two advanced pelletising systems for PET recycling. Solutions tailored to the needs of the installation simplify maintenance, increase line availability and help reduce operating costs.
These innovations are part of the broader development direction of Erema technologies, aimed at increasing line performance, stabilising rPET quality parameters and reducing unit processing costs.
Beyond bottles: new PET application areas
Bottle-to-bottle recycling is currently a well-established segment, but EREMA is also developing solutions for other PET applications. One of the growing areas is tray-to-tray recycling, in which companies such as Cirrec from the Faerch Group are playing a pioneering role in Europe. According to Wöss, the technology for such recycling is already available, and the further development of this segment depends largely on market impulses.
The EREMA Group is also involved in textile recycling projects, in particular for polyester. One example is the polyester textile recycling system developed by Pure Loop, which has been commissioned by the Salvation Army Trading Company. This project received the Plastics Industry Award. Another step in this field is the recent investment in the Australian clean technology company BlockTexx, which aims to scale post-consumer textile-to-textile recycling to an industrial level.
Wöss concludes that through its initiatives and projects the Erema Group is striving to develop PET recycling beyond the bottle segment, opening up new circularity opportunities in both the packaging and textile industries.
