BE1026920B1 - NECK RING MARKING OF PLASTIC CONTAINERS, CONTAINERS EQUIPPED WITH NECK RING MARKINGS AND RELATED METHODS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a plastic container comprising a jacket part closed by a bottom part and provided on the opposite side of the jacket part with a shoulder merging into a neck part with a pouring opening, in which the neck part is provided at least partly around the circumference. support collar comprising the steps of: - injection molding a preform for the plastic container from a polyester composition thereby defining the neck portion with the pouring opening and the annular support collar, - transporting the preform to an apparatus for blow molding or stretch blow molding a plastic container, - blow molding or stretch blow molding of the preform with plastic container formation thereby defining the shell portion and the bottom portion of the plastic container, retaining the injection molded neck portion of the preform, characterized in that - the mark is applied to the support collar; and the marking comprises a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, barcode or Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; and - preferably the machine-readable code is arranged repetitively around the neck portion of the preform. The invention also relates to preforms and bottles with the aforementioned neck ring marking and related methods.

Description

NECK RING MARKING OF PLASTIC CONTAINERS, CONTAINERS PROVIDED WITH NECKRING MARKS AND RELATED METHODS

TECHNICAL FIELD The invention is situated in the packaging and recycling sector. The invention relates to the use of a neck ring around the neck and pouring opening of a plastic container as a substrate for applying machine-readable code, the code preferably providing information for use in the recycling of the plastic container. The plastic container is preferably a bottle, more preferably a PET bottle. The invention can be used to separate opaque and difficult to recycle PET from plastic packaging waste. The invention is useful to support the reuse of plastic.

BACKGROUND The use of plastic in the production of packaging is widely known. Plastic is often used to replace glass because the latter material is heavy and fragile. If plastic packaging were consistent in their composition, color, transparency, weight and dimensions, recycling would be easy. The widespread and very diverse use of plastic packaging makes recycling difficult. Bottles are a known form of packaging. This type of container is typically composed of a bottle body, a bottle neck that connects to the bottle body, and a nozzle that connects to the bottle neck. The mouthpiece has an opening through which the bottle can be filled. The most common plastics in packaging waste are polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high density polyethylene (HDPE). Fillers and brand owners who put large quantities of PET bottles on the market do not want their own plastic material to be just any packaging or recycled material.

Some brands consciously choose to keep their bottles as pure as possible, ie without additives, colors or other additives. When purchasing recyclate, they make similar demands.

Previously, PET was used almost exclusively for the production of transparent food and beverage packaging. PET hardly occurred in other application areas such as non-transparent food and beverage packaging or non-food applications. HDPE plastic was mainly used in these other application areas; think for example of milk bottles and shampoo bottles. This subdivision made it possible to sort bottle waste into three product streams: uncoloured or transparent, transparent blue, variegated and opaque. Here, the composition for uncoloured or transparent, and transparent blue plastic dominated by PET and fur, and opaque packaging was mainly HDPE.

However, there is a shift in the market for beverage packaging, household products and care products. PET is increasingly being used instead of high-density polyethylene (HDPE). This shift in preference for PET over HDPE is happening because of cost price, marketing and sustainability reasons.

The introduction of PET in non-food applications results in a significant increase in colored and / or opaque PET packaging, such as in white milk bottles, for example. Where previously non-food packaging was almost exclusively HDPE plastic packaging, and recycling was geared to this, the increasing presence of colorful and / or opaque PET packaging is causing processing problems in recycling processes.

Two problems facing the recycling sector are keeping food and non-food PET recyclates separate and separating and processing opaque and colored PET recyclates.

The use of PET recyclate from non-food applications is strictly regulated. The presence in food applications should remain low to avoid contamination problems. A polyester recyclate is not considered to be problematic if the polyester content of non-food applications is below 5%, so this application is only of limited use for the increasing oversupply of PET recycled from non-food applications,

Opaque bottles, such as milk bottles, have an additional problem. Titanium dioxide pigment is often used to obtain opacity. For example, opacity in a milk bottle is necessary to guarantee the shelf life of milk. However, an increase in titanium dioxide pigment in PET recyclate causes processing problems. It ensures a reduced transparency (Haze effect) in combination with fresh PET material. Another drawback is reduced mechanical properties. This has an impact in further processing. In textiles, for example, PET yarns are often dyed with a very low concentration of TiO2, usually 0.01-0.1 w / w% and at most 1 w / w%. At higher concentrations, a decrease in tensile elongation strength occurs when spinning the fibers.

Where in the past a rough separation was sufficient to obtain almost mainly PET or HDPE recyclate, nowadays the need arises for improved sorting and processing. The main need is to identify so-called opaque and difficult-to-recycle PET packaging. A market for the recycling of these packaging is virtually non-existent. Successful development of a sales market will mainly depend on being able to offer recycled materials with a known composition and finding new applications. Various actors are looking for solutions for improved identification and processing of packaging waste.

The use of chemical tracers, such as UV fluorescence markers, for PET packaging is currently being investigated. These can be applied to a packaging wrapper, as a coating or as an additive in PET compositions. Packaging wraps, however, are separated from the packaging in a recycling installation. Coatings can abrade in use. The addition of additional additives to PET raw materials is contrary to the trend to use fewer chemical additives in packaging, especially in packaging for drinks or foodstuffs.

An alternative solution currently under investigation is to use a digital watermark. This can be invisible in printed matter. However, most PET beverage packaging is not printed.

Other known markers are computer readable codes such as bar codes, QR codes, or the like. Since beverage packaging is often offered in compressed bales, this information is difficult to access.

Another solution is described in WO2016 / 204619. This describes the application of a relief pattern consisting of a pattern of bumps and pits. Reading the information required illumination from an oblique angle, creating an encoded message composed of shadow and light. The pattern is applied during the production of the packaging, preferably in the injection mold or blow mold. This method requires an increasing number of molds in production. This limits the ability to use a standard mold for different applications and customers. In addition, for a reliable readability, the relief pattern must be provided over a relatively large surface. EP 0 869 067 discloses a plastic bottle with a neck ring. The neck ring can be designed as a polygon with surfaces and facets. A combination of the chosen polygon, surfaces and facets can be used to indicate a special plastic material. However, the information that can be encoded is limited. Different cameras are required for information constructed from vertical planes and horizontal planes. Consequently, there is a need for further alternatives and improvements, especially for packaging in bottle form which represents a large volume in packaging waste flows. The present invention aims to solve one or more of the above-mentioned problems. Specifically, the invention aims to provide a simple and durable solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a solution to the problem of better identifying, sorting and recycling bottle packaging waste. The invention provides improved traceability of the origin and use of PET packaging,

in particular of PET bottles.

To this end, the invention provides the use of a neck ring around the pouring opening of a package as a substrate for a machine-readable code.

The code can store information about the composition, plastic, additives, application, producer and / or filler, in short

5 different characteristics of the packaging.

This information benefits the detection, processing and recycling of bottle packages. The invention also provides a preform and package with a neck ring on which machine-readable code is applied.

The invention further provides a method of marking bottle packages with machine-readable code and processing packaging waste.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a method for producing a plastic container, the plastic container comprising a jacket part closed by a bottom part and provided on the opposite side of the jacket part with a shoulder merging into a neck part with a pouring opening, in which the neck part is at least partly is provided around the periphery with a, preferably annular, support collar, the method comprising the steps of: - Injection molding of a preform for the plastic container of a polyester composition, thereby defining the neck part with the pouring opening and the annular support collar, - transporting the preform to a device for blow molding or stretch blow molding of a plastic container, blow molding or stretch blow molding of the preform with plastic container formation thereby defining the jacket part and the bottom part of the plastic container, while retaining the injection-molded neck part of the preform, characterized in that t - the marking is applied to the, preferably ring-shaped, support collar; and the marking comprises a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, barcode or Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; and - the machine-readable code is applied repeatedly around the neck portion of the preform.

Applying the codes on a small surface, such as the support collar, ensures a low consumption of material.

A machine-readable code with small dimensions is little disturbing to the user. The neck ring can be used as an orientation tool for retrieving the code. The neck ring helps with positioning of reading devices.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a preform for blow molding or stretch blow molding a plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, comprising a neck portion, an adjacent wall portion of a substantially cylindrical shape, and further a bottom section that closes the wall section, wherein the neck portion is at least partly around the circumference is provided with a, preferably annular, support collar and the support collar is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the preform, characterized in that the preform support collar is marked with a machine-readable code selected from a QR code , a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; preferably a micro OR code or IOR code with a single positioning point; more preferably, the machine-readable code is repeated around the neck portion of the preform.

A preform with machine-readable information on the support collar has the advantage that the marking took place early in the production stage. This reduces the chance of errors and increases traceability. The neck ring forms a firm, little deformable surface. This makes it easier to apply the codes. Repeating the machine-readable code increases readability and facilitates automation. Readability becomes independent of the orientation of the package. In a third aspect, the invention provides a plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, comprising a neck portion, an adjacent jacket section and a foot section that closes the man section and forms the base of the container, obtained by blow molding or stretch blow molding, preferably from a preform according to a embodiment of the invention, in which the neck part is provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar, and the support collar is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (L) of the plastic container, characterized in that the support collar of the plastic container is marked with a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; preferably a micro OR code or IQR code with a single positioning point: more preferably, the machine-readable code is repeated around the neck portion of the plastic container.

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a method for sorting from a waste stream plastic bottles of at least a batch of recyclable bottles, the bottles comprising a neck portion provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar and a pouring opening, the method next steps includes: - transporting a waste stream comprising recyclable plastic bottles along a defined path, - detecting markings comprising a machine-readable code, - machine reading of the information contained in the machine-readable code, - sorting recyclable bottles including a selected machine readable code, characterized in that, - the mark for recyclable plastic is affixed to the support collar of recyclable plastic bottles, - the mark comprises a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof , - preferably the machine-readable code repetitive i s arranged around the neck portion of the preform, - the information includes machine readable code includes information regarding the field of application and the composition of the plastic bottle.

- recyclable plastic bottles having several common characteristics are discarded to form a sorted batch of recyclable plastic bottles.

In a final aspect, the invention provides a use of a, preferably annular, support collar of a plastic container preform or plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, as a substrate for a, preferably repetitive sequence, machine-readable code selected from an OR code , a barcode, a Digimarc code, or combinations thereof.

The use of the support collar as a substrate for a machine-readable code provides a firm, low-deformable surface for applying the code. The collar is easily visually recognizable by a human or camera and image processing system. A support collar provided with a repetitive number of machine-readable information can be read easily, regardless of the orientation of the package.

Further preferred forms are elaborated in the dependent claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES Figures 1 and 2 provide schematic representations of preforms according to an embodiment of the invention. Figures 1 A and 2 A show a front view.

Figures 1 B and 2 B show a top view. Figures 1C and 2C give an example of a machine-readable code applied to the support collar of a preform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in the description of the invention, including technical and scientific terms, have the meaning generally understood by one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains. Furthermore, definitions of the terms are included to better understand the description of the present invention.

As used herein, the following terms have the following meanings: “A”, “the” and “it” as used herein refer to both the singular and the plural, unless the context indicates otherwise. For example, “A compartment” refers to one or more than one compartment.

"Approximately" as used herein, which refers to a measurable value such as a parameter, an amount, a duration and the like, is intended to include variations of +/- 20% or less, preferably +/- 10% or less, more preferably +/- 5% or less, even more preferably +/- 1% or less, and even more preferably +/- 0.1% or less of the specified value, to the extent that such variations are suitable for to perform in the described invention. However, it will be understood that the value to which the term "approximately" refers is itself specifically described. "Include", "comprising" and "includes" and "consisting of" as used herein are synonymous with "containing", "containing" or "contains" and are inclusive or open terms that specify the presence of what follows, eg.

a component and the presence of additional, unlisted components,

do not exclude features, elements, parts, steps which are well known in the art or described therein.

Quoting numerical ranges by endpoints includes all numbers and fractions included within that range, as well as the named endpoints.

By the term "w / w%" as used herein, it is meant weight percent by which the ratio weight of an ingredient to the total weight of a bottle, without closure, is expressed in percent.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a method for producing a plastic container. The plastic container is preferably a bottle. A bottle is a common form of packaging. The following parts are distinguished in the container and bottle: a neck part comprising a pouring opening, an adjoining wall section with a substantially cylindrical shape, and further a bottom section which is an extension of the wall section and closes the wall section. The container preferably consists of a single part. The container is preferably closable with a closing means such as a lid or screw cap. The neck part is provided with a support collar at least partly around the circumference.

In a first step, a preform for the plastic container is obtained by injection molding a thermoplastic composition defining the neck portion with the pouring opening and the support collar.

The preform is then conveyed to a blow molding or stretch blow molding device of a plastic container. A plastic container is formed by blow molding or stretch blow molding of the preform. In this step, the jacket part and the bottom part of the plastic container are formed, while retaining the injection molded neck portion of the preform.

A method according to an embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the preform is marked during transport to the blow molding or stretch blow molding device. The marking is applied to the support collar. The marking includes a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, barcode or Digimarc code, or a combination thereof. The machine-readable code is applied repeatedly around the neck portion of the preform.

The preform is preferably marked during transport to the blow molding or stretch blow molding device. Marking during transport of the preform between the injection molding device and the blow molding or stretch blow molding device has the advantage of saving time. In an alternative embodiment, the preform is marked during the injection molding process. The injection mold can be arranged for applying the marking. In a preferred form, the injection mold is provided with the negative form of the machine readable code. For example, for a barcode, the injection mold will be provided with grooves for the stripes in the code. In an alternative embodiment, the marking is applied to the preformed container by blow molding or stretch blow molding. This has the advantage that the marking can be applied by the filler. Information about the contents of the packaging, filler, production location, and other information can be included in the machine-readable code. The containers and bottles according to an embodiment of the invention are provided with a support collar. A support collar is also called a neck ring. A container is provided with a support collar at least partly around the circumference of the neck area. Preferably, a container is provided with a support collar completely around the circumference of the neck section. The support collar is essentially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the preform.

The support collar is preferably annular. More preferably, the support collar is annular with a flat upright edge. A flat upright edge has the advantage over a curved edge that a flat substrate can be used for marking.

In an alternative embodiment, the support collar is polygonal. The support collar is preferably designed as a hexagon, octagon, dodecagon, hexagon or 24-sided. The polygon design has the advantage that several flat zones are present around the circumference of the neck section. This is advantageous for applying markings.

Preferably, in addition to the polygonal design, additional facets are provided on the support collar. Preferably, a polygonal surface on the side of the support collar is each time followed by a facet which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the preform. The facet preferably forms an angle of at least 90 ° to the longitudinal axis of the preform. More preferably, the facet forms an angle of more than 100 ° with the longitudinal axis of the preform, even more preferably more than 120 °, most preferably 135 °. The use of a faceted polygonal support collar allows to combine a visual recognition with a machine-readable code. The use of an angle of more than 90 ° ensures that there is more space for positioning a display device along a path for the transportation of the aforementioned preforms or containers.

The thermoplastic composition includes a thermoplastic plastic suitable for injection molding a preform and blow molding or stretch blow molding of a container. The thermoplastic plastic is preferably a polyester selected from polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene furanoate (PEF), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or combinations thereof. The thermoplastic plastic is preferably comprised of polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

The plastic container in the present invention is preferably a polyester bottle. By the term "polyester bottle" is meant a bottle form package made from a polyester composition. In addition to polyester, the composition can also include other plastics. The composition comprises at least 50 w / w% polyester plastic, preferably at least 75 w / w% polyester plastic, more preferably at least 95 w / w% polyester plastic.

The thermoplastic composition may comprise an opacifying agent. Preferably, the thermoplastic composition comprises an opacifying agent, more preferably in an amount comprised between 0.1 w / w% and 15 w / w%. Even more preferably, the thermoplastic composition comprises 1 w / w% to 5 w / w% opacifier.

By the term "opacifier" is meant an additive that increases the degree of opacity or opacity of a material. The action is based on the light scattering property, the more light scattering and the more opacifying agent in a composition, the more light is scattered outward and a container appears opaque. Opacants are, for example, calcium carbonate, lead white, zinc oxide, antimony oxide, lithopone, zinc sulfide, carbon black also known as carbon black, and / or titanium dioxide. The rutile form of titanium dioxide is more light scattering than the anatase form. These additives give polyester plastic a white color. The term white pigment can be used as a synonym for these opacifiers.

The presence of titanium dioxide is particularly problematic. This is disturbing even at lower quantities compared to most opacies.

When using a polyester composition, preferably max. 5 w / w% titanium dioxide is present. More preferably, max. 3 w / w% titanium dioxide is present. Even more preferably, max. 1.5% w / w% titanium dioxide is present. Most preferably, max. 1.0 w / w% titanium dioxide is present.

Transparency and the impact of an opacility agent on a transparent plastic (Haze effect) can be measured using a standard test method, such as ASTM D1003 (method B) or BS EN ISO 13468 and ISO 14782. For the production of containers, it is preferable started producing a preform or preform. The preform is obtained by an injection molding process. A thermoplastic plastic is inserted into an injection mold, composed of a cavity and a core pin. The cavity between the core pin and the cavity determines the shape of the resulting preform. The support collar is formed by selecting an injection molded mold with a hollow shape to form the support collar. A preform is then transferred to a bias matriis. Preferably, the preform is gripped to the neck portion with the support collar. By introducing blowing agent into a heated preform, the preform is inflated in the blow mold. Inflating the heated preform up to the walls of the bias matriis creates a plastic container. The walls of the blow mold can be cooled to speed up the shaping process.

Preferably, a draw rod is provided in the blow mold. A stretching step, in which the heated preform is stretched lengthwise, precedes the blowing step. This deformation induces wall thinning and wall strength.

In the blowing process or stretch blowing process, the walls and the bottom section of the plastic container are shaped. The neck part of the plastic container is preferably left unchanged from the injection molding step.

Injection molding and blow molding, or stretch blow molding, can be performed in a one-step or two-step production facility. In a one-step production facility, the production of the preform and the blow molding or stretch blow molding of the plastic container are carried out in one unit. In a two-stage production facility, the production of the preform and the blow molding or stretch blow molding of the plastic container are performed in a different device. The devices can be present at one and the same production location, such as a factory hall. The devices can be present at various production locations. When using a two-step production, the preforms are preferably cooled for transport. The preform is an intermediate product that can be transported to different locations for the production of plastic containers. Before the preform is introduced into the next unit for blow molding or stretch blow molding of a container, the preform is heated to a desired temperature. The heating is necessary to be able to deform the thermoplastic composition by introducing blowing agent, usually heated air. When using one-step production, the preforms are preferably cooled during transport between different units of the production equipment. The conveying path can be horizontal or vertical, Bil units connected one behind the other, the conveying path of the preform will be mainly horizontal, When the units are located one above the other, the conveying path of the preform will mainly be vertical after leaving the injection mold. Marking of a preform preferably takes place during the range between the injection mold and the blow mold.

The preforms are preferably marked when the preform has a temperature between 5 ° C and 50 ° C; preferably located between 10 ° C and 40 ° C; more preferably between 15 ° C and 35 ° C; most preferably located between 18 ° C and 28 ° C.

In a preferred form of the invention, the preform is suspended or supported on the support collar during transportation between the injection mold and the blow mold.

Hanging on the support collar has the advantage that the support collar is positioned for marking. The marking is preferably applied by printing, printing, stamping, laser or photolithography. Laser marking is preferred.

Preferably, the preform is rotated about the longitudinal axis of the preform during marking. This has the advantage that a mark can be applied around the neck section of the support collar. This is advantageous for reading the marking, since this can be done independently of the orientation of the container when the marking is applied in this way. In a preferred form, at least on the support collar, a coating composition is applied comprising additives for laser energy absorption and color development. This coating step is performed prior to laser marking the support collar with a machine-readable code. The use of this coating has the advantage that a color change can be obtained without loss of material. This is advantageous compared to laser marking where material is etched. Damage to the preform is avoided.

Examples of lasers for use in the present invention are: 10.6 micrometers or 9.3 micrometers wavelength CO2 laser, YAG laser, YVO4 laser. The preforms are preferably transported suspended from the support collar.

The suspension makes positioning for marking the support collar easier.

An alternative mode of transport consists of holding the preforms in a container.

Preferably, a rotating means is provided for rotating the preform. This facilitates the application of a machine-readable code to the preform in a repetitive sequence. A rotational means can consist of a rotatable suspension means or a rotatable holder.

The container can be provided with a rotating means to rotate the preform about its longitudinal axis. Positioning the support collar for a marking device is advantageous for obtaining a marking around the neck portion of the preform.

In a preferred form of the invention, the method has the following additional steps: - transporting the preform along a defined path, - positioning a device for marking the support collar with the aforesaid machine-readable code along the defined path, coupled to a rotation device for rotating the preform to be marked about the longitudinal axis of the preform during marking. The invention also relates to products obtained in a method according to the invention.

In a second aspect, the invention provides a preform for blow molding or stretch blow molding a plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, comprising a neck section, an adjacent wall section of a substantially cylindrical shape, and further a bottom section closing the wall section, wherein the neck section is at least partly around the circumference is provided with a, preferably annular, support collar and the support collar is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the preform, characterized in that the preform support collar is marked with a machine-readable code.

The machine readable code is an OR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination of these.

An OR code or Quick Response Code is a two-dimensional barcode, developed in 1994 by Denso Wave. The code was developed to be quickly decodable. An OR code is ideal for providing easier and / or more information. International standard ISO / IEC 18004 describes OR codes. The code is machine-readable with an OR-code scanner. An OR code exists in different variants (www.grcode.com): OR code model 1, OR code model 2, micro OR code, IOR code, SORC, Frame OR. The micro OR code is a smaller version of the OR code, intended for application on limited surfaces. The iQR code has a rectangular shape, The IOR code can be applied on narrow and long surfaces, The machine-readable code is preferably a micro OR code or IOR code with a single positioning point, A barcode or barcode is a machine readable code consisting of a sequence of different thick and thin lines. Depending on the coding system, this code can consist of a combination of numbers, letters or punctuation marks. A barcode can be read with a scanner. A Digimarc barcode or digital watermark, is a machine-readable code that is invisibly included in text or images. Reading the code requires special software.

The machine readable code has been repeated around the neck portion of the preform. The repetition allows the code to be read regardless of the orientation of the container. The size of the machine-readable code is determined by the size of the support collar. The use of elongated codes is preferred. A machine-readable code applied to the support collar preferably has a size of up to 2.0 mm by up to 5 mm; more preferably maximum 1.7 mm by 4 mm; even more preferably maximum 1.5 mm by 3 mm, most preferably 1.0 mm by 1.0 mm.

Preferably said, preferably annular, support collar is in the form of a disc comprising gene or multiple side walls substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the preform; in which one or more side walls, preferably all side walls, of the support collar are made flat, characterized in that the one or more flat side walls are provided with the machine-readable code. The support collar is preferably in the form of a disc comprising one or more side walls substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the preform or plastic container; characterized in that one or more side walls, preferably all side walls, of the support collar are made flat and are provided with the aforementioned one or more, preferably with a repetitive series of several machine-readable codes selected from a QR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination of these.

The use of the upright walls of the support collar as a substrate for the machine-readable code allows the information to be applied / read during a transport in which the packaging is suspended from the support collar.

A preform according to an embodiment of the invention is preferably a multilayer preform. The number of layers is preferably at least three, More preferably the middle layer comprises or contains recycled PET (rPET). Most preferably, the presence of rPET is limited to the middle layer. Preferably, the machine readable code gives the structure of the preform and / or the wall composition of the container obtained from the preform.

The shielding of rPET material with other layers, preferably virgin PET material, has the advantage that a possible negative impact of rPET is limited, such as the occurrence of a color difference between rPET and virgin PET. the PET material unstable or in other words varying, By limiting the rPET material to one or more layers, preferably to the middle layer, it is possible to work with fresh (virgin) material in other layers, This has the advantage that PET still processes without giving up the benefits, such as stability in properties, of fresh material. rPET material can be introduced into the middle layer via co-injection techniques. In this way, virgin PET is on the outside, and can be colored stably with opaque dyes.

By introducing recycled polyester material, preferably rPET, a risk of chemical contaminants associated with the use of recyclate can be reduced. In particular, the dosing of high quantities of recyclate can result in undesired migration of contaminants. This is problematic when used in food applications. By placing recyclate, preferably rPET, in a middle layer, food comes into contact with fresh polyester material, preferably virgin PET. The inclusion of information about the presence of rPET is advantageous for greater traceability. Waste processors can use the information to sort out a waste stream with desired quality requirements. The layer with recycled material can still be provided with one or more barrier layers. The choice of barrier is adapted to the possible presence of contaminants. The invention further also relates to bottles made from a preform as described above.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, comprising a neck portion, an adjacent jacket section and a foot section that closes the jacket section and forms the feel of the container, obtained by blow molding or stretch blow molding, preferably from a preform according to a preferred form of the invention, in which the neck part is provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar, and the support collar is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plastic container, characterized in that the support collar of the plastic container is marked with a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; preferably a micro OR code or IOR code with a single positioning point; more preferably, the machine-readable code is repeated around the neck portion of the plastic container. Preferably, the neck portion comprises a threaded pouring opening closable with a closing means; characterized in that the machine-readable code is arranged outside a circle with a diameter determined by the diameter of the closing means,

This has the advantage that the machine-readable code is not covered by the closing means. There is less hindrance when reading the code. Preferably the preform or container is a so-called "opaque and difficult to recycle" preform or container. The term "opaque and difficult to recycle" plastic or simply ODR (opaque and difficult to recycle) means a problem case for recycling. This concerns polyester bottles with a high content of opacities and non-food polyester bottles. A non-food application is a packaging application outside the food or beverage (food) category. This also includes use in food packaging for animals.

Marking an opaque and hard-to-recycle preform or container helps isolate and keep these problem cases separate.

It allows the problem cases to be treated separately. This gives rise to a recyclate with a known composition. This contributes to an improved use of the recyclate from ODR preforms and / or containers.

The machine readable code preferably includes information concerning multiple characteristics of a difficult to recycle polyester composition; preferably, the machine readable code comprises at least information regarding the following combination of characteristics signaling a difficult to recycle polyester composition: food or beverage packaging made from a polyester composition comprising an opacifying agent; or non-food packaging made from a polyester composition substantially free of opacifier.

By the term "substantially free" of opacifier or "transparent" is meant a material with a transmission greater than 20%. The opacifier content is preferably less than 1 w / w @% opacifier. Preferably the content is less than 0.5 w / w%, more preferably less than 0.1 w / w%, most preferably opacifier free.in a preferred form of a preform or plastic container of the invention, the neck portion comprising a threaded pouring hole; is there between the bottom of the screw thread and the disc of the preferably annular,

support collar is an intermediate distance (H) of at least 0.5 cm. This spacing ensures good readability of the machine-readable code, even in the presence of a sealing cap or screw cap on the pouring opening of the container neck.

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a method for sorting a waste stream of plastic bottles of at least a batch of recyclable bottles, the bottles comprising a neck portion provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar and a pouring opening, wherein the The method comprises the following steps: - transporting a waste stream comprising recyclable plastic bottles along a defined path, - detecting markings comprising a machine-readable code, - machine reading of the information contained in the machine-readable code, - sorting recyclable bottles comprising a selected machine-readable code, characterized in that, - the recyclable plastic marking is affixed to the support collar of recyclable plastic bottles, - the marking includes a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination of these, - preferably the machine readable code is repetitive arranged around the neck portion of the preform, - the information includes machine readable code includes information regarding the scope and composition of the plastic bottle.

- recyclable plastic bottles having several common characteristics are discarded to form a sorted batch of recyclable plastic bottles.

This method has the advantage that fillers can be returned their own plastic material. In a last aspect, the invention provides a use of a, preferably annular, support collar of a plastic container preform or plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, as a substrate for a repetitive series of machine

readable code selected from an OR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or combinations thereof. The use of the support collar as a substrate for a machine-readable code provides a firm, low deformable surface for the application of the code. The collar is easily visually recognizable by a human or camera and image processing system. A support collar provided with a repetitive number of machine-readable information can be read easily, regardless of the orientation of the package.

The, preferably annular, support collar is preferably provided with flat parts at least partly around its circumference. Preferably flat parts are used as substrate for one or more of the aforementioned machine-readable codes. In a use according to an embodiment of the invention, the plastics are preferably a difficult to recycle plastics and the, preferably annular, support collar is used as a recognition agent for a combination of characteristics inherent in plastics which are difficult to recycle, in particular for a food or beverage packaging comprising a plastic bottle manufactured from a polyester composition with an opacifying agent: or as a recognition agent for a non-food packaging comprising a transparent plastic bottle manufactured from a polyester composition substantially free of opacifying agent, in a use according to an embodiment of the invention, the marked support collar is preferably used as a recognition agent for an at least 1 w / w% titanium dioxide polyester bottle; preferably as a recognition medium for at least 5 w / w% opacity agent! including polyester bottle; even more preferably as a recognition agent for a polyester milk bottle covering at least 1 w / w% titanium dioxide; most preferably as a recognition agent for a polyester milk bottle comprising at least 5 w / w% opacifier, The use of a marked support collar according to the invention can contribute to the separation of food and non-food polyester bottles In recycling processes, By separating the recyclate from these food and non-food bottles can meet strict regulations for materials that come into contact with food and / or regulations for the recycling industry; such as for example in the European Regulation 1935/2004 on materials intended to come into contact with food, the European Regulation for plastics 10/2011 and the European Regulation 2582/2008 on materials and articles of recycled plastic intended for use in foodstuffs. contact. A polyester recyclate is considered not to be problematic if the polyester content of non-food applications is below 5 w / w%.

The invention is further illustrated by examples and figures. These are not limiting. Preferred forms of the invention are illustrated in Figures 1 to 2.

EXAMPLES Figure 1 A-C show a first embodiment of a preform according to the invention. The preform 100 comprises a neck portion 10 with a screw thread 5 and a pouring opening 4. The neck portion 10 is provided with an annular support collar

1. The support collar is marked with a barcode 8. The barcode is repeated several times around the circumference of the neck ring 1. The neck ring 1 is octagonal. A machine-readable code is applied to each flat part of the octagon, formed by the upright walls of the disc-shaped support collar. In this case, the machine readable code is a bar or bar code 8. The preform 100 further comprises a wall portion 6 which is mainly cylindrical. The wall part 6 connects to the neck part 10. The wall part 6 is closed at the bottom, directly opposite the pouring opening 4, by a bottom part 7. The support collar is mainly perpendicular to the longitudinal axis | of the preform 100. Figures 2A-C show another preferred form of a preform according to the invention. The preform 100 comprises a threaded neck section 5 and a pouring opening 4. The neck section 10 is provided with an annular support collar 1. The support collar 1 is marked with a rectangular QR code 9. The QR code 9 is repeated several times around the circumference of the neck ring 1. The neck ring 1 is circular. A series of machine-readable codes is provided on the upright edge of the neck ring, in this case QR codes 9. The preform 100 further comprises a wall section 6 which is mainly cylindrical. The wall section 6 connects to the neck section 10. The wall section 6 is closed at the bottom, directly opposite the pouring opening 4, by a bottom section 7. The QR code may contain information regarding the characteristics of a recyclable polyester bottle.

Examples of this:

- a transparent non-food bottle without opacities for packaging a detergent;

- a brightly colored non-food bottle with 3% opacities for the packaging of a fabric softener;

- an opaque milk bottle with 1 w / w®% titanium dioxide;

- a transparent brown beer bottle without opacities and provided with an oxygen barrier.

Claims (1)

CONCLUSIONS 1. A method for producing a plastic container, the plastic container comprising a jacket part closed by a bottom part and provided with a shoulder on the opposite side of the jacket part, merging into a neck part with a pouring opening, in which the neck part is provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar, the method comprising the steps of: - Injection molding a preform (100) for the plastic container of a polyester composition thereby defining the neck portion (10) with the pouring opening (4) and the support collar (1), - transporting the preform (100) to a device for blow molding or stretch blow molding a plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, blow molding or stretch blow molding of the preform (100) with a plastic container forming thereby defining the jacket part and the bottom part of the plastic container, with retaining the injection molded neck portion of the preform (10), with the characterized in that - the marking is applied to the, preferably annular, support collar (1); and the marker comprises a machine readable code selected from a QR code (9), barcode (8) or a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; and - preferably the machine-readable code (8, 9) is applied repeatedly around the neck portion (10) of the preform (100). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the preform (10) is marked during transport to the blow molding or stretch blow molding device Method according to claim 1 or 2, with the additional step of hanging or supporting the preform (100) on the support collar (1) during transport. The method of claim 2 or 3, wherein the preform (100) is rotated about the longitudinal axis (I) of the preform (100) during marking. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, with the additional step of coating at least the, preferably annular, support collar (1) with a coating composition comprising additives for laser energy absorption and color development, prior to laser marking the machine-readable code. A method according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 5, with the additional steps of: - transporting the preform (100) along a defined path, - positioning a device for marking the support collar with said machine-readable along the defined path code (8, 9), coupled to a rotation device for rotating the preform to be marked about the longitudinal axis (I) of the preform (100), during marking. A preform (100) for blow molding or stretch blow molding a plastic container, preferably a plastic fabric, comprising a neck portion {10}, an adjacent wall portion (6) of a substantially cylindrical shape, and further a bottom section (7) defining the wall section in which the neck portion (10) is provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar (1) and the support collar (1) is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (I) of the preform, characterized in that the support collar (1) of the preform (100) is marked with a machine-readable code selected from a QR code (9), a barcode (8), a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; preferably a micro OR code or IOR code with a single positioning point, more preferably the machine-readable code repeats around the neck portion (103 of the preform (100). A plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, comprising a neck section, an adjacent jacket section and a foot section that closes the jacket section and forms the base of the container, obtained by blow molding or stretch blow molding, preferably from a preform (100) according to claim 7, wherein the neck part (10) is provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar (1), and the support collar (1) is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (L) of the plastic container, characterized in that the support collar (1) the plastic container is marked with a machine-readable code selected from a QR code (9), a barcode (8), a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof; preferably a micro QOR code or IOR code with a single positioning point; more preferably, the machine-readable code is repeated around the neck portion of the plastic container. S, preform (100) or plastic container according to claim 8, wherein said, preferably annular, support collar (1) is in the form of a disc comprising one or more side walls substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis (1) of the preform (100) or plastic container; wherein one or more side walls, preferably all side walls, of the support collar are made flat, characterized in that the one or more flat side walls are provided with the machine-readable code. Preform (100) or plastic container according to claim 8 or 9, the neck part comprising a pouring opening (4) with screw thread (5) closable with a closing means; characterized in that the machine-readable code is arranged outside a circle with diameter determined by the diameter of the closing means. il. A method for sorting from a waste stream plastic bottles of at least a batch of recyclable bottles, the bottles comprising a neck section (10) provided at least partly around the circumference with a, preferably annular, support collar (1) and a pouring opening (4), wherein the The method consists of the following steps: - transporting a waste stream comprising recyclable plastic bottles along a defined path, - detecting markings comprising a machine-readable code, - machine reading of the information contained in the machine-readable code, - sorting recyclable bottles comprising a selected machine legible code, characterized in that, - the mark for recyclable plastic is affixed to the support collar of recyclable plastic bottles, - the mark comprises a machine-readable code selected from a QR code, a barcode, a Digimarc code, or a combination thereof, - preferably the machine-readable code is arranged repeatedly around the neck portion of the preform, - the information contained in the machine-readable code includes information regarding the field of application and the composition of the plastic bottle. - recyclable plastic bottles comprising several common characteristics are discharged to form a sorted batch of recyclable plastic bottles. 12. Use of a, preferably annular, support collar {13 of a plastic container preform (100) or plastic container, preferably a plastic bottle, as a substrate for a, preferably repetitive series, machine-readable code selected from an OR code, ( 5) a barcode (8), a Digimarc code, or combinations thereof, Use according to claim 12, characterized in that the, preferably annular, support collar (1) is provided with flat parts at least partly around its circumference and said flat parts are used as substrate for one or more of said machine-readable codes (8, 9). Use according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the plastic bottle is a hard-to-recycle plastic bottle and the, preferably annular, support collar (1) is used as a recognition agent for a combination of characteristics characteristic of a hard-to-recycle plastic bottle, in particular especially for a food or beverage packaging comprising a plastic material made from a polyester composition with an opacifying agent: or as a non-food packaging identifier comprising a transparent plastic bottle made from a polyester composition substantially free of opacifying agent, 15. Use according to any one of claims 12 to 14, as identifying agent for a polyester bottle toppling over at least 1 w / w% titanium dioxide; preferably as a recognition agent for a polyester bottle comprising at least 5 w / w% opaque agent; even more preferably as a recognition agent for a polyester milk bottle comprising at least 1 w / w% titanium dioxide; most preferably as a means of recognition! for at least 5 w / W®% opacity medium! comprising polyester milk bottles.