National Adhesives' ETICYCLE product is a high performance adhesive used with PET bottles to help maximise recyclability.

Traditional hot melt adhesives used for the PET labelling only give a 12 - 30% removal from the bottle after recycling. With ETICYCLE 850, this is dramatically increased to up to 89%. ETICYCLE disperses in hot, caustic water, ensuring clean PET flakes are collected out of the recycling process. This ensures there is no discolouration of new PET bottles. In addition there is no adhesive performance compromise.

ETICYCLE 850 also offers high performance on the production line. Compatible with traditional rubber-based hot melts, this adhesive has a low running temperature of 135-150⁰C. ETICYCLE 850 is suitable for both paper and plastic labels, and can be used with a variety of application methods. High-tack, it ensures a secure bond, and has enough flexibility to allow for the expansion of carbonated drinks bottles.

"As the environment becomes a boardroom priority, National Adhesives is developing adhesive solutions to help customers exceed their environmental obligations," commented Gerard ten Bolscher, Marketing Manager Europe at National Adhesives. "ETICYCLE 850 not only hugely improves recyclability of PET bottles, but also offers high performance on a par or better than that of traditional hot melt adhesives."

The adhesive has been tested with PET bottle recycling systems, and recently received the endorsement of approval from German-based PETCYCLE, a major plastics recycling company.