Addressing problematic shrink sleeves on PET bottles

This case study examines the redesign of shrink sleeves on PET bottles in South Africa's food and beverage industry to improve recyclability. It identifies floatable polyolefin materials as a scalable substitute for problematic PET, PETG, and PVC sleeves, which currently disrupt recycling processes and lead to landfilling.

• The SA Plastics Pact has prioritized the elimination of PET, PETG, and PVC shrink sleeves on PET bottles in the food and beverage industry, as these materials constitute the largest share by weight of priority problematic and unnecessary plastics marketed by the Pact's members.
• Problematic shrink sleeve materials interfere with the PET bottle recycling process, resulting in the rejection of technically recyclable bottles, which subsequently contribute to plastic pollution or end up in landfills.
• Floatable polyolefin materials, specifically polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), are identified as viable redesign solutions. These materials maintain marketing and functional benefits while being compatible with existing PET recycling processes.
• Brand owners including SPUR Corporation and Woolworths have begun transitioning to floatable polyolefin materials to operationalise Target 1 of the SA Plastics Pact. Success for early adopters was driven by collaboration between recyclers, retailers, brand owners, and packaging and label manufacturers.
• The case study is part of the Plastic Reboot – South Africa project, one of 15 global projects supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and co-led by UNEP and World Wildlife Fund US. In South Africa, the project is implemented by UNDP and UNIDO, with the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) serving as the national focal point and WWF South Africa acting as the national execution agency alongside GreenCape and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

APA

GreenCape (2026). Addressing problematic shrink sleeves on PET bottles. https://greencape.co.za/library/addressing-problematic-shrink-sleeves-on-pet-bottles/

Chicago

GreenCape. Addressing problematic shrink sleeves on PET bottles. 2026. https://greencape.co.za/library/addressing-problematic-shrink-sleeves-on-pet-bottles/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=GreenCape |title=Addressing problematic shrink sleeves on PET bottles |date=13 April 2026 |url=https://greencape.co.za/library/addressing-problematic-shrink-sleeves-on-pet-bottles/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{greencape2026addressing, author = {{GreenCape}}, title = {{Addressing problematic shrink sleeves on PET bottles}}, institution = {GreenCape}, year = {2026}, month = apr, url = {https://greencape.co.za/library/addressing-problematic-shrink-sleeves-on-pet-bottles/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }