Apeldoorn, March 20, 2025 – Holland Colours is proud to announce that ReWhite, a breakthrough solution for upgrading white opaque recycled PET (rPETo), has been selected as a finalist at Plastics Recycling Awards Europe (PRAE) 2026. This recognition highlights the strategic importance of viable recycling routes for white dairy packaging and underlines how ReWhite can help unlock true circularity for one of the most technically challenging rPET streams.
Rising Challenges for White rPET
White recycled PET (rPET) is emerging as a valuable resource for closed-loop dairy packaging, yet producers continue to face practical barriers. Recycled white PET often lacks sufficient opacity or appears too dark, making it difficult to achieve the bright, consistent bottle appearance brands expect. At the same time, EU recycled-content targets—25% rPET by 2025 and 30% by 2030—are accelerating the need to integrate higher levels of recycled material.
With each recycling loop, white rPET also tends to become greyer, lose brightness, and provide less light protection. As a result, rPETo is frequently downcycled or removed from the circular system. This limits circularity and creates supply challenges as the industry works to meet future regulatory targets.
Introducing a Circular Breakthrough for White Dairy Packaging
ReWhite was developed to address the recycling challenges associated with white opaque PET used in UHT and ESL dairy bottles. The technology restores the two properties most critical for long-shelf-life applications: whiteness and light protection. By recovering these qualities, ReWhite enables recycled white PET to return to bottles with strict visual and functional requirements.
The solution also integrates seamlessly into existing production processes. ReWhite is added during preform injection molding and ISBM bottle manufacturing, requiring no equipment modifications. By stabilizing rPETo quality and upgrading this difficult recycling stream, the technology supports closed-loop recycling for white PET dairy bottles and enables converters and brand owners to incorporate higher levels of recycled content in high-value applications without compromising performance.
Evolving Realities in the PET Value Chain
Through ongoing trials and close collaboration across the value chain, Holland Colours sees that performance and recyclability can no longer be separate topics. The materials used in packaging have a direct impact on how materials behave at end‑of‑life, especially for demanding applications such as dairy. ReWhite and our light‑blocking portfolio, including LightGuard® 400, our latest recycling-friendly light-blocking solution, were therefore developed at the intersection of performance, processing efficiency and recyclability, helping keep PET in high‑value circular streams.
ReWhite will be featured at booth A90 alongside our Recycling and Materials Enhancement Additives at the Plastics Recycling Show Europe (PRSE) in Amsterdam (May 5-6). Holland Colours welcomes visitors to its booth to learn more about our work and to discuss how these technologies enable more circular, high-performance PET packaging solutions.
Holland Colours’ Exclusive Lunch Event
On May 5, we will take this conversation a step further by hosting an invitation‑only networking lunch on the fair's ground bringing together experts from across the PET value chain.
Participants will be able to compare perspectives from across the value chain, hear real pain points and expectations from peers, and walk away with practical takeaways based on actual material behavior and processing experience. Just as importantly, the session is an opportunity to build new connections that can support ongoing collaboration after PRSE, because PET circularity does not happen on its own.
Interested in joining our exclusive lunch at PRSE 2026? Keep an eye on our events page for more details and registration information.
