Polyester, or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), is one of the world’s most recyclable plastics with the ability to be used again and again. The resources that go into polyester plastic, mainly crude and natural gas, only need to be recovered once if it's recycled. The PET Resin Association estimates that approximately 1.5 billion pounds of used PET are recycled in the U.S. each year, making it the most recycled plastic in America. While recycled PET requires energy, it increases the overall life cycle of the material and reduces waste. Polyester also has the lowest water usage of all polymer films, and since PET is chemically inert and resistant to micro-organisms, PET that does end up in landfills won’t dissolve and contaminate groundwater.
Commitment to Sustainable Practices
Mylar® Specialty Films (formerly DuPont Teijin Films™, Tekra’s longstanding vendor partner of polyester film materials, practices post-industrial recycling in the manufacturing of its non-virgin resin PET films. Post-industrial recycling reduces waste by repurposing manufacturing scrap for later film batches. Tekra offers a variety of polyester films that undergo this process.
While many films undergo post-industrial recycling processes during manufacturing, Tekra also offers some post-consumer recycled (PCR) films manufactured by DuPont Teijin Films™ for select food-packaging applications. Post-consumer recycling refers to the recycling of finished good materials that consumers recycle themselves, or recycling in the more conventional sense.
As a proud partner and authorized distributor of DuPont Teijin Films™ (now known as Mylar® Specialty Films), Tekra participates in MSF's (formerly DTF) Returnable Packaging Program that recycles pallets, end boards, tops, separator boards, core plugs, and more. Through this program, MSF (formerly DTF) saves 8,000 trees per year and prevents 20 million pounds of solid waste from ending up in landfills.
To learn more about Tekra’s commitment to environmental stewardship, check out our Environmental Sustainability Policy.
For more information about how you can prioritize environmental sustainability in your polyester film application, contact us or call Tekra at (866) 532-8840.