And the WorldStar Sustainability Award in gold goes to: Starlinger for its rPET PP*STAR.

In addition to winning a WorldStar Award in the category "Packaging Materials and Components" with the bag concept rPET PP*STAR, Starlinger had been shortlisted for the Sustainability Award of the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) since January 2018. The winners of this special category were only announced at the official award ceremony that took place in Gold Coast, Australia on May 2, 2018. Starlinger Managing Partner Angelika Huemer, who personally attended the ceremony, had the pleasure of accepting the award in Gold from Antro Saila, WPO Vice President Sustainability and Save Food.

"Winning the Sustainability Award in Gold is a great honor and encourages us to continue to develop packaging concepts that are not just functional, but sustainable as well," says Angelika Huemer. "The transition towards a circular economy is currently a hot topic in the plastics industry, and we are proud to be one of the forerunners in this important process."

The rPET PP*STAR - a pinch bottom bag for products such as dry pet food, fertilizer, sugar, flour, or rice - consists of plastic fabric that is produced directly from used PET bottle flakes. This type of packaging can in turn be recycled after use, thereby achieving a closed loop production. On top of its excellent recyclability, the rPET PP*STAR features a low deadweight, which saves material in production and carbon dioxide during bag transportation. The bag itself weighs only 117 g, but holds 50 kg of fertilizer! And despite its low weight, the rPET PP*STAR is extremely resistant to breakage.

Given the numerous advantages of PET, it is hardly surprising that other packaging types are also produced from bottle flakes on Starlinger machinery - for example the rPET FIBC (a flexible intermediate bulk container or big bag) and sheet (viscoSHEET) for food trays.

www.starlinger.com