Many questions were asked about why using PCR for packaging material and why it is sustainable.
First, plastic is durable, unbreakable, and is used for everyday life for packaging, house appliances, medical supply… and many more.
Second, instead of avoiding plastic, the focus should be on proper recycling and better waste management. Hence, the PCR option.
PCR is Post-Consumer Recycled material, it has to be collected from post-consumer waste
How is packaging waste transformed into new packaging? PCR video
→ Collecting
Gather waste separately. Waste is identified as: paper, metal, glass, plastics, and others.
→ Manual Sorting
Sort plastics manually by identifying PET bottles for water, PET bottles for juice, PE bottles for milk, and PE bottles for yogurt.
→ Shredding
Shred plastics into flakes
→ Density sorting
Put plastic flakes in the water stream, exclude other objects by density differentiation..
→ Washing
Clean plastic flakes for granulation.
→ Granulating
Melt, extrude, and granulate. PCR resin is being made.
The PCR used in SR Packaging is...
- Locally recycled and produced in Taiwan
- Conforms to EuCertPlast and European RoHS requirements
What differences will PCR material make to the product?
PCR makes visual differences compared to packaging made of virgin plastic.
Odor:
PCR plastic is odorless, the same as virgin plastic.
Color:
PCR plastic is slightly yellowish compared to virgin plastic.
Stability and Compatibility:
Whether it's made of virgin plastic or PCR plastic, compatibility and stability tests are required to make sure products are compatible and stable with the selected packaging components.
Flexibility:
For PCR bottles, the flexibility issue occurs during the molding process due to the less flexible quality. Hence the molding production setting figure is slightly different from those made of virgin plastic. SR Packaging documents each production statistic and makes sure quality consistent. For tubes, it’s obvious to observe that PCR tubes lose flexibility compared to those made of virgin plastic.
Compare PCR Packaging options
Why are people asking for PCR packaging?
A recent study by First Insight, Inc. indicates that Gen Z Shoppers make purchase decisions based on sustainable models, most willing to spend more on sustainable items. Click to visit First Insight’s study:
What choices are available with a PCR tube?
The possibilities are infinite. Tubes are flexible and can be made with various shapes, sizes, and volumes. Added with an airless pump, a PCR Airless Tube can be the best protection for delicate skin care products.
Does it have to be 100% PCR to claim a “PCR Packaging”?
There’s no regulation at the moment to regulate the percentage of PCR resin in PCR packaging. There’s a goal, however, to be achieved by 2025, for all plastic packaging to have at least 25% of post-consumer recycled resin.
The idea of having PCR content in packaging is to:
- Cut down carbon footprint as PCR resin occupies less energy than virgin resin
- Avoid plastic pollution by turning waste back to new packaging
- Make the best use of non-sustainable fossil resource
Let's Take Action
For how many times can plastic be recycled and used “normally” as PCR packaging?
The majority of plastics can only be recycled about 2–3 times. The fact is that plastics lose their quality when they’re recycled. This is why most plastics get broken down and used to make up parts of other products - like clothing. As such, the majority of plastics only get recycled once and then used in other products that can be used for longer and avoid going into landfill sites.
However, new technologies are emerging every day, scientists and companies are all working on finding better solutions to recycle plastic without losing quality.