Background Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was used for some 40% of beverage containers worldwide in 2010. Europe processed 2.4 million tonnes of virgin PET for this use, with the requirement expected to increase by 2% per year. Production and use of PET results in the depletion of natural resources, and the generation of packaging waste. PET is the main polymer that must be addressed to achieve the EU plastics recycling target of 50% of plastics from households by 2020. Processing of 1 tonne of PET per hour requires 600 KW of power in a two-stage process, and results in the production of 50 000 containers/hr. The process also consumes hydraulic oil, which is difficult to dispose of. In addition, certain drinks (e.g. tea, fruit juices and milk) require container sterilisation, which is energy intensive and uses water and toxic chemicals. New processes that address these issues are needed to improve the environmental performance of PET production. Objectives The main goal of the LIGHT PET project was to establish a new process and plant for the production of food containers made from PET. The new plant will consist of modules for both the production of the preforms and for their shaping into bottles. The main innovation prosed will be in the stretching-blowing process. The specific goals of the project are to reduce the consumption of PET by reducing container weight and using a greater share of recycled PET; to reduce energy consumption by optimising the configuration of the PET bottle plant; to change from a two-stage to a one-stage process; and to eliminate the use of hydraulic oil by using an injection-compression production process to remove the need for hydraulic gears (and therefore the oil to lubricate them). Results The LIGHT PET project developed a single-stage prototype plant for producing PET bottles. The plant consumes one-third less energy than that of traditional processes, and it does not use hydraulic oils. It can produce up to 40 000 sterile bottles per hour, with these bottles being 6% lighter than the commercial benchmarks. The bottles produced by the project’s innovative new process contain at least 30% recycled PET. The project team demonstrated how the percentage of recycled PET might be increased to 50-70%. The project’s prototype plant consisted of five macro-units that rotate synchronically to perform a continuous production of bottles. The project pioneered the implementation of the injection-compression process, well-known for plastics moulding, for the first time in the high-speed production of plastic bottles. The project demonstrated that a bottle production plant based on this technology performs better and consumes less energy than a plant using traditional processes. Several innovations were necessary to achieve this result. The machinery developed produces bottles with a single stage process, instead of the traditional two-stage processes. This required in-depth technological studies, but as a result three key advantages were obtained; firstly, maintaining the inner temperature of preforms saves thermal energy; secondly, since the bottles cool down from very high temperatures, they do not need to be sterilised prior to containing beverages (acids are used for this purpose in two-stage processes); and thirdly, since the process is rapid, the feedstock does not need to be fully dehydrated (saving energy). Another innovation involved the deployment of a rotating system of fast-running moulds, which improved on the performance of the usual injection-compression technology utilising static moulds. This required a great deal of fine-tuning and troubleshooting, but ultimately provided an industrial need for higher production speed. Finally, the project innovated in terms of raw materials. Traditional processes use hydraulic oils for obtaining high pressures on melted PET, but the new process operates at reduced pressures for which compressed air is sufficient. The project’s information tools including a best practice manual for recycling and buying eco-friendly PET containers that was targeted at public administrations and consumers. Once the prototype plant was fully-operational, project staff participated in a number of international events and published many articles on the new technology. Consumers, citizens and public administrations therefore have been made aware of the importance of recycling PET containers, and the possibility of buying bottles with added "eco-friendly" value. The project team foresees around 120 such plants in use by 2025. Given that it is possible to reduce bottle weight by about 6% compared to benchmarks and use 10% more recycled raw material (decreasing virgin PET use by some 15%), cut out the need for oils and water, and operate with 30% more energy efficiency compared to current technologies, the beneficiaries calculated (to 2025) that the following savings could be made: 751.5 tonnes/year of hydraulic oil for the machine functioning, 15 480 million litres/year of water, and 155 million litres/year of peracetic acid and 5 420 GWh/year of energy for sanitising bottles. The project falls within the framework of the EU directive on the optimisation of natural resources and energy consumption, because less PET will be used per bottle and less energy will be required from the plants. The project can also accelerate the implementation of EU directives on the management of wastes, particularly concerning recycling. Furthermore, as the new production process is cheaper than traditional ones, it is likely to encourage producers to make bottles with higher percentages of recycled PET (up to 70%). Project beneficiaries will benefit economically. SIPA will insert the new plant in its portfolio as a "state-of-the-art" machine, and associated beneficiary IRCA will start producing heating devices based on the more efficient ceramic technology developed during the project. Industries that purchase the plant will save money on raw materials and energy consumption, with a predicted return on investment of about one year. The uptake of the technology may also increase job opportunities, such as for trained technicians, product designers and sales managers. Further information on the project can be found in the project's layman report and After-LIFE Communication Plan (see "Read more" section).