Austrian recycling machinery manufacturer Next Generation Recyclingmaschinen (NGR, Feldkirchen; www.ngr.at) has announced that recycled PET made with the company’s process for liquid-state polycondensation (LSP) has been authorised for use in food-contact applications by both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, Parma, Italy; www.efsa.europa.eu) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA, Washington, D.C.; www.fda.gov).

The company noted that its reclaim method reprocesses PET in the liquid phase, and the technology uses the higher rate of reaction in the melt phase to save energy and time during processing (see Plasteurope.com of 16.10.2013). This is said to guarantee simultaneous upgrading of the plastic and recycling to the highest standards of brand owners. Additionally, “Decontamination of the material in the LSP process takes only a few minutes.”

The machine maker reported that its melt phase reprocessing produces material of a quality that far exceeds the limits set by EFSA and the FDA. “Brand owner tests confirm that, if required, the material properties after the LSP process are even higher quality than those of the input material,” the company said.