Closed-Loop Recycling Concepts

Swiss Bachmann Group recently demonstrated that food-grade PET packaging can be successfully recycled back into new food packaging, even when it comes from mixed household waste streams. Through its PAC2PAC feasibility project, the company partnered with Sesotec, Starlinger Viscotec, Krones, and PET-MAN to test whether Switzerland’s complex plastic collection system could support a true closed-loop recycling model.

The challenge was separating food-grade PET from non-food-grade plastics in household collection bags, where different materials are often mixed.

The project combined advanced sensor technology with artificial intelligence. Using AI-driven object recognition, the sorting system analyzed not only material type but also factors such as shape, surface details, and printing to accurately identify food-grade PET. Once sorted, the PET was cleaned, purified, converted into flakes, and then thermoformed into new films and back into PET packaging.

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