Sourced from the globe’s most recyclable plastic, PET, Renewliner debuts the world’s first curbside recyclable insulated box liner shipping system.
Renewliner is made from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a strong, lightweight plastic that is used in everything from water bottles to carpeting and one of the only materials in existence with the technology to be infinitely recyclable.
PET is the most recycled plastic in the U.S and worldwide, with more than 1.5 billion pounds of used PET being recovered in the United States each year for recycling. A 2010 study found that producing one ton of recycled PET, compared to one ton of virgin PET, saves 48 million BTUs of energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 3,000 pounds.
PET is not only recyclable, it also has an incredibly low carbon footprint compared to alternative packaging materials like cotton, denim, and paper. PET enables TSS to reduce the environmental impact twofold, by tackling the current pollution issues (removing material from the waste streams and giving them a second life), while also creating a product will be recycled again and again.
Is Renewliner curbside recyclable?
Yes, Renewliner and PET are curbside recyclable. Here’s how.
Step 1: Curbside Collection
You can put Renewliner directly into your recycling containers for curbside collection. Nearly every municipal recycling program in North America and Europe accepts PET bottles and containers, which can be easily identified by #1 stamped into the bottom or side of the container.
Always check with your local recycling office to see what is accepted in your area.
Step 2: Separation
Recyclable materials are separated at the recycling facility, with glass and metal being transferred into their own recycling streams and high-value plastics like PET being separated from other plastics, which would reduce the quality of PET and limit its ability to be reused.
Step 3: Transportation
After PET is collected and separated, it is compressed for transportation to processing facilities. Unlike other recyclable materials, PET is extremely lightweight and can be compressed into small bales that reduce emissions during transportation.
Step 4: Processing
Compressed bales of PET are processed by thorough washing and re-melting or by chemically breaking it down to its component materials to make a new PET resin.
How NOT to recycle Renewliner.
1. Don’t tear off the outer layer.
2. Don’t put it in your garbage can.
3. Don’t put it in your home compost.
Renewliner is at the forefront of sustainability.
The only thermal packaging solution awarded Most Sustainable Temperature-Sensitive Project by Cold Chain Global Forum.
The Cold Chain Global Forum is one of the most prestigious and credentialed organizations in the industry, and Renewliner is the only thermal packaging solution to be recognized by the Cold Chain Global Forum as the “Most Sustainable Temperature-Sensitive Project.” Renewliner was awarded this distinguished recognition because it is the world’s first curbside recyclable insulated shipping system and uses closed-loop recycled material to create the most sustainable product on the market.
100% Curbside
Recyclable
Closed Loop
Recycled Material
Removes Waste
From Refuse Stream
Reduced Carbon
Footprint
USA Made
How is Renewliner and PET recycled?
Rather than being sent to a landfill, Renewliner and PET can be converted from post-consumer use into a pellet that can be extruded into a usable form for PET products through a process called mechanical recycling.
Mechanical recycling does not allow material to be infinitely recycled, only chemical recycling does this through a process that breaks the plastic down into it’s building block chemical components to yield a virgin quality materials by removing contaminants, etc. Through an enzymatic process they can raise or lower the intrinsic viscosity which is the main component that is reduced after each life/recycle in a mechanical process.
Mechanical recycling is the most widely used process in the U.S. and globally. According to the report “Mechanical Plastics Recycling — The Global Market” by AMI, mechanical recycling surpassed 54 million tons globally in 2022 and is projected to be nearly 55 million tons by 2030. Because mechanical recycling is widely available, it is a great solution to recycle Renewliner again and again.
To certify that Renewliner is recyclable, it was subjected to a thorough testing process by Palmetto Synthetics, LLC.
Equipment Used
For the melt temperature, Palmetto Synthetics used a Fisher/Johns Melting Point Apparatus. For the color value, they used a DataColor 800.
Step 1:
The product is shredded into small pieces, which is then transported to a condensing unit to further decreases the size of the pieces.
Step 2:
A polymer is then introduced into the extrusion line to be vacuumed in a 2-zone vacuum system, removing any volatiles or gasses.
Step 3:
The material is then filtered & injected through a dye where it gets cut into smaller pieces, captured in a water stream, and transferred through a quench loop.
Step 4:
Finally, the material is sent to a dryer where water and pellets are separated. The pellets go into the box, while the water is returned to the tank to be re-used – creating a closed-loop recycling process.
Results
After concluding its rigorous testing procedure, Palmetto Synthetics determined that PET is an excellent candidate for recycling and Renewliner can be recycled for reuse.
1. Given the various types of PET material that may be available for recycling, it is important to note the following:
- The incoming raw material must be one hundred percent PET—no blends of other
types of polymers, such as nylon (PA), polypropylene (PP), or polyethylene (PE). - The incoming raw material must be of similar intrinsic viscosity—this includes
low-melt PET products that may be blended into the incoming raw material.
2. Any deviation from the above can cause failures and downtime in the recycling process.
Here is a video demonstration of the Renewliner/PET recycling process produced by Palmetto Synthetics.
What happens if my local collection group does not want to accept Renewliner?
PET is fully recyclable, though some material recovery facilities (MRFs) in U.S. cities, counties and municipalities may not accept it. MRFs play a key role in the recycling ecosystem. A MRF is a facility that sorts and processes mixed recyclable materials into new products through a combination of machinery, equipment, and human effort to sort and prepare the materials.
The U.S. recycling system has several major shortcomings that result in only 32.1% of waste being either recycled or composted. Some of these shortcomings occur in MRFs, which make their own decisions about which products to accept.
One reason that MRFs may not accept Renewliner is because they are not equipped with the human and machine resources to properly collect, remove and sort some recyclables from the waste stream. Another reason is that they may not realize that Renewliner is 100% PET because it is a new product that they have not seen before.
TSS cannot control these independent businesses, nor their collection policies. Please check with your local MRF for specific details in your area.
