September 18, 2025 12:49

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a No Objection Letter (NOL) approving the use of the Starlinger recoSTAR dynamic recycling system for closed-loop (cap-to-cap) recycling of polypropylene beverage closures.

The NOL covers the manufacture of 100% post-consumer recycled polypropylene (rPP) bottle caps, which can now be used safely under Conditions of Use C to H, including hot-fill applications.

The approved machine configuration consists of a recoSTAR dynamic extruder equipped with a C-VAC module for highly efficient degassing, along with the PCUplus unit at the end of the recycling line. Together, these technologies ensure permanent odor reduction and complete removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs)—key steps in producing food-grade recyclates from post-consumer plastics.

“In the beverage industry, PP and HDPE are the materials mostly used for plastic bottle caps,” said Paul Niedl, commercial head of Starlinger recycling technology. “Already in 2021 we received FDA approval for our HDPE bottle-to-bottle and cap-to-cap recycling processes. Now we can close the loop also for beverage bottle caps made of polypropylene so that they can be returned to the recycling stream and be reused without downcycling.”

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