The Bottle4Flex project aims to develop new sustainable and efficient chemical recycling processes for PET and rPET and new flexible rPET compounds for high-performance 100% recyclable packaging applications, solving the problem of recycling flexible PET packaging. The BOTTLE4FLEX project is led by COVINIL, a packaging converting company, with the participation of EROSKI and the AIMPLAS technology center.

The development of the project will imply a technological advance in the following areas:

1. Develop new rPET recycling processes that are presented as an alternative for the sector, which contribute to meet the demand for rPET recycled material

2. Improve the properties of rPET so that it can be used in high-performance, 100% recyclable single-material flexible packaging applications, through new repolymerisation and compounding processes.

BOTTLE4FLEX is structured around 3 activities that will be developed in a coordinated way for 3 years, ranging from October 1, 2022 to September 31, 2025.

The main impact is the development of a new PET recycling process, which can in the short term help to solve the problem of insufficient rPET production capacity, currently at 35kt, the current need being 54kt1. Impact is expected in the packaging sector where monomaterial film solutions are not found today, such as skinpack packaging films, and vacuum packaging films and others such as PetFood packaging, could also have application in the cosmetic sector. Europe will invest 7.2 billion Euros in chemical recycling by 2030.