Bottle to Bottle Recycling Process
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Solution for PET Bottle-to-Bottle Plant and Engineering

Close the Loop of PET Bottle-to-Bottle Recycling

Background

BoReTech offers a complete bottle to bottle recycling plant for the conversion of post-consumer PET bottle bale into food grade rPET pellets. The resulting rPET pellets are suitable for applications in direct contact with food (FDA/EFSA approval).

The bottle-to-bottle recycling process is fully continuous, integrating extrusion as the first process section and solid-state polycondensation as the second process section into a single, integrated system. A fully advanced, automatic, and intelligent control system can be integrated into the line for easier and more efficient operation. This system can be designed to have control optimization based on each production line. What’s more, we’re able to develop customized modules, and so on, with functions mentioned above; we’re capable of enhancing product operation, device monitoring, and production management.

Bottle to Bottle Recycling: Global Market Trends

Aligned with the shared vision of a circular economy for plastic, global consumer goods brands and retailers are racing to boost recycled content in packaging, with ambitious 2025 targets in place. Some have set longer-term goals—Coca-Cola aims for 30–35% recycled plastic in primary packaging by 2035, while PepsiCo targets 40% or more. This “closed-loop” push has become a key competitive focus.

Major bottle preform manufacturers are successfully incorporating recycled PET at scale, with some bottles reaching 100% recycled content. Studies show the approach delivers not only environmental benefits but also strong economic value.

Why Choose BoReTech for Bottle to Bottle Recycling

BoReTech is the leading supplier of post-consumer PET recycling solutions in Asia. We are proud of our 30 years of plastic waste recycling production and equipment manufacturing. At present, we have over 300 plastic recycling lines successfully working in more than 40 countries across the globe. Our customers in the US, Japan, EU manufacture food-grade rPET resin for such well-known brand owners as Niagara Bottling, Nestle, etc.

Product Feature

Extruder

This new extrusion system combines the superior plasticization and homogenization of a parallel twin-screw extruder with the specific advantages of a conical twin-screw system. The screw is equipped with easily changeable shear and mixing elements, allowing precise adjustment of plasticizing for each demand. Effective degassing, supported by a vacuum pump, removes monomers in the front of the plasticizing unit.

Key Advantages:
  • Big intake section with excellent in-feed behavior
  • Conical design ensures optimal screw filling
  • High output per screw rotation (kg/rpm)
  • High torque capability due to large screw shaft diameter
  • Very stable pressure behavior
  • Excellent homogenization from the co-rotating system
  • Superior feeding performance
  • Narrow melt dwell time distribution inside the processing unit
  • Low melt temperature
  • Reduced energy consumption

SSP

In the SSP process, PET pellets are further decontaminated and their molecular weight is increased to produce high-quality bottle-grade resin that meets industry regulations and packaging requirements. SSP and the decontamination of migrated substances are diffusion-controlled processes, with product temperature and residence time as the main design parameters.

The solid-state polycondensation process (SSP) is essential to upgrade the molecular weight of amorphous PET pellets to meet FDA regulations and packaging industry standards.

Key Advantages:
  • Ideal for small and medium enterprises in developing countries without polymerization facilities
  • Supports high I.V. chip downstream users
  • Stable performance with economical investment and high cost-performance ratio
  • Proven quality control methods ensure excellent and stable PET flake quality for continuous feeding into pelletizing and SSP
  • Energy-saving and environmentally friendly by reusing heat energy from pelletizing and SSP in the washing process

Request for Quotation

Our Strengths

- BoReTech washing process is the only technology designed in Asia which achieved USA FDA LNO (Letter of No Objection) standards.
- World-wide installation experience: USA, European Union, Asia, Africa, Latin America, India, etc.
- Primal focus on sustainable R&D and cutting-edge engineering aimed to recover 100% of post-consumer PET waste.
- The shortest time for delivery, installation, and start-up in the industry.
- Trust and confidence of the existing customers. 2/3 of our clients come for more machines to BoReTech to expand their production capacity.
- Experience in manufacturing food-grade rPET resin with significant economic benefits for our customers.

Capacity

Input for Washing Line: 1500/2000/3000/4500/6000/7500 kg/h
Input for SSP :900-6000 kg/h

Watch How Bottle to Bottle Recycling Works

FDA Certifications

  • On February 17, 2023, Boretech obtained an FDA Non-Objection Letter (NOL) covering the entire washing -pelletizing - SSP process (under C-G application conditions), becoming the first full-process solution provider in Asia to receive FDA certification for a bottle-to-bottle food-grade PET recycling process.
  • On June 4, 2025, Boretech once again independently secured an FDA NOL specifically for its SSP process. This advancement further improves the I-value and reduces acetaldehyde content, comprehensively meeting the high standards required for bottle-to-bottle recycling.

This combined solution has been successfully implemented in multiple international food-grade projects, enabling customers to efficiently achieve food-grade rPET production.

Bottle to Bottle Recycling Benefits Compared to Downcycling

  1. Conservation of Virgin Resources:
    Every ton of PET plastic recycled back into bottles displaces a ton of virgin PET, which is made from petroleum or natural gas. This directly reduces fossil fuel extraction and dependence.
  2. Major Reduction in Energy and Carbon Footprint:
    Producing recycled PET (rPET) for bottles requires up to 75% less energy and generates up to 75% fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to manufacturing virgin PET from crude oil. This is a massive win for climate change mitigation.
  3. Brand and Consumer Satisfaction:
    Companies using rPET in their packaging can legitimately claim to be reducing their environmental impact, meeting consumer demand for sustainable products, and complying with increasingly strict government regulations on recycled content.

3D Layout


bottle to bottle recycling plant

PET Bottle to Bottle Recycling Process

Stage 1: Collection, Sorting and Washing Line – Preparing Clean PET Flakes

De-baling → Dry Trommel → Iron Belt Separator → Label Remover Unit → Bottle Pre-washing → Automatic Sorting (Optional) → Label Scrapping → Crushing → Drying → Floating → Hot Washing & Turbo Washing → Rinsing (Zig Zag Separator) → Eddy Current (Optional) → Automatic Sorting (Optional)


Stage 2: Pelletizing – Converting Flakes to rPET Pellets

Blending → Analysis → Pre-heating → Drying → Extruding → Pelletizing


Stage 3: Continuous SSP – Upgrading to Food-Grade Quality

Pre-crystallizing → Pre-heating → SSP Reactor → Pellet Cooling → Storage / Packing


Stage 4: Bottle Manufacturing – Completing the Loop

Transporting to Manufacturing → Bottle Molding → Filling → Finished Bottles (Water, Soft Drinks, Juices)

Success Stories