VITA NOVA

The circular potential of mono-PET in household flexible packaging

A hand holding clear plastic polymer pellets.

Searious Business is working with BOPET Films Europe to establish a consortium of industry players to promote the use of mono-PET flexible packaging within a circular economy. The consortium welcomes players from throughout the supply chain including producers, sorters, recyclers, machine manufacturers, retailers and brand owners.

The new consortium is called Vita Nova, the Latin for “new life”, which is exactly what the group aims to give to flexible PET packaging.

By leveraging knowledge and expertise across the industry, the Vita Nova consortium will be able to deliver valuable results that improve the design, sorting, and recyclability of flexible PET packaging in Europe, and develop a true closed-loop for this material.

Diagram of PET recycling evolution showing a recycling symbol, plastic bottles, containers, and wrapped rolls on a timeline.

Infographic titled "Benefits" showing a scale with two bags of granola, comparing MONO-PE and MONO-PET materials. Icons on the right highlight benefits like lower CO2 emissions, lower material weight, reduced plastic taxes, and increased recycled con

Packaging concepts and potential applications, featuring white plastic packaging bags, a list of uses including food and hygiene products, and illustrations of instant noodles, a croissant, chocolate, and broccoli inside packaging outlines.

Diagram about food-grade PCR availability, highlighting materials like mono-PP, mono-PE, and mono-PET. Mono-PET is marked as readily available. Icons include a recycling symbol, a factory, and a leaf.

Illustration of a hand holding a hammer above a square container labeled "MONO - PE/PP" with a recycling symbol, next to a round container labeled "MONO - PET" over a round hole. Text reads "You can’t fit a square peg into a round hole. Dare to think

Lighthouse project PET4pet promotional image featuring a lighthouse illustration and text about pet food packaging using mono rPET for enhanced circularity.

Illustration of a cat on a seesaw between two bags of cat food, labeled MONO-PE and MONO-PET, on a green background.

GOAL:
Proof the technical and financial viability of semi-industrial in-store collection and recycling
of mono rPET pet food packaging

Icons representing environmental benefits: lower CO2 emissions, reduced material weight, decreased plastic taxes, and increased recycled content.

“We cannot achieve these goals in isolation, and through this Vita Nova initiative we hope to pull together knowledge from across the value chain to improve the circularity of flexible packaging”

BOPET Films Europe vice chair Michael Kreuter

The pet food sector grows by 32% every year and the fastest growing packaging type is the flexible pouch. As with all flexible packaging there is pressure to enhance recyclability and include recycled content. Switching to a mono-r(PET) film is an ideal drop-in solution.

Which is why we're launching PET4pet.

LEADERS
OF CHANGE

A recent LCA study and recycling tests have shown that Mono PET Films for household packaging:

Can be integrated into packaging portfolios without negative impact on pack performance or packaging line efficiencies

Reduce plastic and increase food-grade PCR content

Can efficiently be sorted and recycled through chemical monomer recycling, offering superior Film-to-Film yields

Offer significant carbon reduction compared to existing structures

Offer economic benefits once scaled

LCA STUDY

IN THE NEWS

Vita Nova - Webinar On-Demand Vita Nova - Dare to think differently Vita Nova in Packaging Insights Magazine Vita Nova in Packaging Europe Magazine Vita Nova in Sustainable Plastics Magazine

For more information about Vita Nova or how to integrate
mono-PET into your portfolio, please contact Rosemarie Wuite: rosemarie@seariousbusiness.com

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