The raw material for manufacturing plastic bottles is PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), also called PET plastic bottles. The initial use of PET was for artificial fibers, tapes, etc.

Plastic bottles made of PET have the following six characteristics:

1. Lightweight and easy to carry (the weight is about 1/7 to 1/10 of the same size glass bottle);
2. Impact resistance and high strength (it can show sufficient strength when dropped);
3. Use in compliance with food hygiene regulations;
4. Good transparency and luster, which can show a beautiful appearance as a container;
5. The container can be recycled and reused, which is conducive to environmental protection (relatively speaking);
Due to the characteristics of good toughness, lightweight, airtightness, acid, and alkali resistance, PET plastic bottles are often used as bottled beverage packaging containing mineral water, soft drinks, juices, carbonated drinks, etc.

Why do I need to separate the cap and label when handling PET bottles?

Since 1976, PET has been mass-produced and widely used in food and beverage containers. Modern society manufactures and uses PET bottles in large quantities, but because they cannot be decomposed naturally, they must be recycled and reused after they are used.
From the perspective of the production process, the body and cap of the PET plastic bottle are entirely produced separately. The material of the bottle body and the bottle cap is different, mainly because of the elastic coefficient. Since PET has a small elastic coefficient and is easy to deform, it is very unsafe to seal as a liquid. Therefore, HDPE materials are usually used to make bottle caps and gaskets, which are very convenient for transportation and sales.
Because of this, in Japan, Taiwan, and other regions, the bottle cap, bottle body, and label are separated before recycling PET bottles.

But in Europe, there is no need to separate the bottle cap, bottle body, and label. Why?
They explained: "Our factory has advanced automatic equipment. After all the bottles enter the machine, they will be cut into pieces of about 1-2cm. After the pieces are washed with water, the bottle materials of different densities will automatically layer. Then pass Photoelectric screening devices are divided into different types of regenerated fragments."
In the finished product area, you can indeed see that the bottle body, label, bottle cap, and other materials are basically separated, and there are few mixed together.
Therefore, when Europeans recycle beverage bottles, they do not need to twist the caps and tear off the labels.

How does Packer's PET bottle washing line work?

In the process of recycling PET plastic bottles on Packer's PET bottle washing line, do I need to unscrew the cap and tear off the label?
To figure out this answer, we have to look at how our bottle recycling machine handles beverage bottles.
Most of the beverage bottles sent here did not twist off the caps and tear off the labels.

Click to view the device operation video.

Most domestic beverage bottle recyclers have manual processing and machine processing.
Our point of view is that twisting bottle caps and tearing labels will reduce the processing work of recyclers, and I believe recycling industry chain companies are also welcome. But it should be more welcome for recycling companies: I hope consumers can throw away the unfinished beverages and keep the bottles clean, dry, and odor-free.