Label-free plastic bottles

**关键挑战**正在进行大量的社会和工业努力，以减少一次性使用的塑料废物，特别是来自塑料瓶的废物，以解决气候变化等环境问题。同样，作为这一挑战的一部分，塑料标签应该被回收、重复使用或减少。塑料标签会造成塑料垃圾，但它们是至关重要的，因为它们可以装饰、告知、提供系列化和防伪标记。目前，塑料标签可以通过直接打印在瓶子上或贴上较薄的标签来消除或减少。不幸的是，前者会在回收过程中导致墨水去除问题，而后者不会消除，而只是减少塑料含量。该项目提供了一种替代技术，可以提供一种无标签的解决方案，可以装饰和告知，很容易回收，并且不会造成塑料垃圾。**通过颠覆性创新来应对挑战**激光活性化学品，在暴露在激光能量下之前是无色的，可以提供一种不涉及标签或墨水的瓶装工艺，关键是对塑料垃圾零贡献。这些化学品可以在瓶子制造的第一阶段以非常低的浓度加入(因此预计对回收几乎没有影响)，只需将它们与其他瓶子成型组件混合即可。瓶子可以以正常的方式灌装和盖上盖子，通过应用可变设计的激光图案，激光激活的化学物质会变色，显示所需的装饰和信息；不需要任何标签。这一概念已被类似并成功地应用于面包标签和医疗器械等塑料物品，但尚未工业化应用于塑料瓶。鉴于一个领先的软饮料品牌每年生产300万吨塑料包装，并计划在全球400亿美元的标签打印市场中继续使用塑料瓶，这一颠覆性创新的潜在价值是巨大的。**该项目的目标是：-*为塑料瓶开发创新的激光活性化学物质*创造含有激光活性化学物质的瓶子*对成型的瓶子进行激光成像，以提供装饰和信息。*对完成的激光成像瓶子进行可回收性和全面测试。**好处本项目将带来*100%的印刷塑料标签*显著减少一次性塑料垃圾含量*消除传统的印刷工艺，包括溶剂、油墨和标签废物。*减少能源使用*提高供应链效率*减少运输*改善印刷包装的回收利用率

**Key challenge**Substantial societal and industrial efforts are underway to reduce single use plastic waste, particularly from plastic bottles, to address environmental concerns such as climate change. Equally, as part of that challenge plastic labels should be recycled, reused, or reduced. These contribute to plastic waste but are vital as they decorate, inform, and provide serialisation and anti-counterfeiting marks.Currently, plastic labels can be eliminated or reduced by printing directly on bottles or applying thinner labels, respectively. Unfortunately, the former can cause ink-removal issues in the recycling process, and the latter does not eliminate but merely reduces plastic content.This project presents an alternative technology that could provide a label-free solution which decorates and informs, is readily recyclable, and does not contribute to plastic waste.**Addressing the challenge through disruptive innovation**Laser-active chemicals, which are colourless until exposed to laser energy, could offer a bottle decorating process that does not involve labels or inks, and critically contribute zero to plastic waste. These chemicals can be incorporated at very low concentrations (so are expected to have little impact on recycling) in the first stage of bottle manufacture, simply by mixing them with the other bottle forming components. The bottles can be filled and capped in the normal manner, and by applying a laser pattern of variable design, the laser-active chemicals become coloured, revealing the desired decoration and information; there would be no need for any label.This concept has been analogously and successfully adopted for plastic items such as bread tags and medical devices but has not yet been applied industrially to plastic bottles. Given one leading soft drink brand produces 3 million tonnes of plastic packaging a year and plans to continue to use plastic bottles, within a global label printing market of $40B, the potential value of this disruptive innovation is huge.**The objectives of this project are: -*** Develop innovative laser-active chemistry for plastic bottles* Create bottles containing laser-active chemicals* Laser-image the formed bottles to impart decoration and information.* Conduct recyclability and full testing trials of the finished laser-imaged bottles.**Benefits this project will bring*** 100% elimination of printed plastic labels* Significant reduction in single use plastic waste content* Elimination of conventional printing processes, including solvents, inks and label waste.* Reduction in energy usage* Increased supply chain efficiency* Decreased transportation* Improved recyclability of printed packaging