Enhancing Circularity in HDPE Bottles, Caps, and Closures
This playbook explores opportunities to reduce plastic waste and enhance the circularity of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles, caps, and closures.
How do we unlock the full circular value of recycling HDPE bottles, caps, and closures?
HDPE bottles, caps, and closures can provide a relatively homogeneous wastestream suitable for high-quality mechanical recycling, which is further enhanced by advanced sorting or segregated collection.
This playbook sets out pathways to improve the circularity of HDPE across value chains. The highest value retention comes from bottle-to-bottle recycling for food-contact, cosmetics, and non-contact sensitive applications; lower-value options include plastic lumber, packaging film, and construction film.
The 8 key pain points impacting the HDPE, caps, and Closures Value Chain
Lack of financial incentives
There is insufficient adoption of easier-to-recycle packaging designs, such as easier-to-remove labels or the use of HDPE for caps and closures, due to limited economic incentives.
Poor rinse and sorting processes
Inadequate rinse and sorting processes at the source (from both polymer and non-polymer sources) result in contamination.
Presence of mixed streams complicates recycling
Mixed streams are challenging to separate into high purity recycle streams and could be contaminated with polymer/non-polymer waste.
Insufficient sorting processes at retailers
Inadequate sorting of HDPE containers at retail outlets can lead to unintentional cross-contamination of plastic/material types.
Contamination and poor sorting processes produce low-quality recyclates
Inadequate sorting and polypropylene (PP) contamination make HDPE recyclate brittle and unsuitable for blow-moulding and pipe applications. Due to their small size, it is also easy to lose caps and closures in material recovery facilities.
Labels, additives, and inks complicate matters
Presence of labels, additives, and ink raises processing cost and/or reduces the quality and profitability of rHDPE pellets from recycling.
Use of sophisticated recycling technologies such as chemical oradvanced mechanical recycling is still limited
Recycling to high-quality applications via chemical recycling or advanced mechanical recycling is not widely scaled and requires further investment.
Non-food materials are not optimal for recycling
Non-food grade applications are typically of lower value and may not allow subsequent recycling loops (full circularity).
Key levers to improve the HDPE, caps, and closures value chain
Design and produce for circularity
Policy and Business model:
- Enable refilling of bottles at home and at stores
- Utilise colourless bottles with shrink sleeves
- Encourage the use of mono-material designs
- Increase rHDPE usage in bottles to more than 50%.
Ecosystem
- Provide information on the benefits of reuse and refill systems
- Support community adoption of reuse and refill models through education campaigns
- Help businesses collaborate with packaging suppliers to improve and standardise reuse and refill designs.
Innovation
- Simplify use of barrier technologies, including water and oxygen barriers for flavour and fragrance retention.
- Adopt easily removable recycling labels, such as water-soluble adhesives.
- Use compatibiliser additives to help incorporate more recycled content.
Improve waste collection
Policy and Business Model
- Use dual and multi-stream collection channels and retail drop-off and take-back programmes to increase collection rates.
- Combine single stream and mixed-waste collection channels with advanced sorting or active informal sector waste-picking.
- Implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes to incentivise producers to better manage their waste.
Ecosystem
- Provide necessary infrastructure and drop-off points for waste sorting and collection.
- Communicate clearly the importance of correct waste collection systems.
Innovation
- Design advanced sorting technologies, such as object recognition and digital watermarks, to achieve higher- purity (over 95%) streams of HDPE.
Develop recycling and treatment capabilities
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Policy and Business Model
- Use closed-loop mechanised recyclingover chemical recycling when possible as it costs less.
- Use open-loop mechanical recyclingwhen it is more practical than other high-quality recycling solutions.
- Use financial incentives and adoptdesign and market quality standards for different grades of HDPE.
Ecosystem
- Communicate the importance ofprocess and design standardisation through workshops for key stakeholders inthe value chain, such as brand owners, small- and medium-sized businesses andretailers.
- Optimise logistics processes formoving feedstock to recyclers.
Innovation
- Invest in the development of cutting-edgefeedstock processing technologies, including advanced decontamination,dissolution, and chemical recycling technologies.
