Revolution in recycling: This is how recyclate changes the quality of orange juice!

Revolution in recycling: This is how recyclate changes the quality of orange juice!

With the aim of counteracting the throwaway culture, the topic of recycling is becoming increasingly important, especially with regard to European regulations. From 2025, disposable PET bottles in the European Union must contain a minimum of 25% recycled material. This measure is to be increased to at least 30% by 2030, as uni-bonn.de reported. Companies also have the option of voluntarily labeling the recycled content on their products in order to promote environmental awareness among consumers.

A current study examines how labeling with recyclate influences consumers. 1080 German consumers were surveyed. They were divided into three groups and saw bottles with different recycled labels: without, with 25% and with 100% recycled. The results show that a recycled label significantly increases the quality assessment of the product, especially in terms of sustainability and taste. Greater environmental awareness further strengthens this effect.

Petcycle: An example of successful recycling

Another positive example of PET recycling is Petcycle GmbH, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In 1999, the reusable pool box system for disposable PET bottles was introduced in Germany. Around 60 medium-sized beverage manufacturers use the efficient circulation system, which makes it possible to put over 1.2 billion bottles into circulation and achieve a market share of around 8 percent plasticpackaging.de reported.

With an impressive recycling rate of over 99 percent, Petcycle shows how almost complete recycling of empty bottles can work. Every new disposable container already contains 60 percent recycled material. Managing director Hans Baxmeier emphasizes the value of PET as a raw material and confirms that the entire return is 100 percent recycled, without any environmentally harmful disposal or thermal recycling.

Sustainability in focus

Consumers appreciate the low weight and high hygiene standards of these bottles. In addition, over 150 beverage brands rely on Petcycle bottles for their non-alcoholic drinks. These efforts set standards in the area of ​​ecological and economical packaging systems and show that recycling is not only possible, but also sensible.

The EU data on the circular economy shows that interest in sustainable materials and the sensible use of resources is constantly growing. These trends are crucial to improve the ratio of production to consumption ec.europa.eu shows. Companies are therefore called upon to be proactive with their recycled content in order to both meet legal requirements and strengthen consumer trust.