OneCircle, the producer of KeyKeg and UniKeg, made some major steps towards the circular economy with the production of the first batch of OnePET® to be used in their kegs and increasing the recycled material content to approximately 45%.
OneCircle used the situation during Covid-19 to put its circularity program at full speed. In the mid of the crisis 11 full truckloads of baled, collected kegs from the OneCircle collection community, as well as production waste, have been shipped to its recycling partner. The different materials of the collected KeyKegs and UniKegs have been sorted, ground and washed to regenerate the mono materials.
OneCircle is the first keg producer who turned used kegs into raw material for new kegs. The polypropylene (PP) fraction, already 100% recycled material, has been shipped to OneCircle's supplier Alligator Plastics. Alligator Plastics moulds basecups and griprings for new kegs out of the material recycled for the second or probably even third time.
The recycled PET material has been turned into their own brand new PET grade: OnePET®. The resin is optimized for being reused in OneCircle's products KeyKeg and UniKeg.
Bert Hanssen, CTO explains: "this first batch of OnePET® consists out of 85% recycled PET originating from post-consumer KeyKegs, production waste and otherwise sourced RPET. Only 15% of a special virgin PET grade has been added to achieve the required properties needed for our high-quality products. The material is of excellent quality and we do not foresee any major challenges when transforming the material from preform to blown container as part of a new KeyKeg or UniKeg".
With this breakthrough, OneCircle increases the recycled material content of its products KeyKeg and UniKeg to approximately 45% and takes an important step in closing its PET loop on the way towards a circular economy.