Recycling system

Abstract

To provide an efficient recycling system.SOLUTION: A recycling system includes: a filling system configured to manufacture a product by filling a content in a container body of a predetermined type made of synthetic resin and sealing the container body with a lid of a predetermined type made of synthetic resin of the same type as the container body; a recovery system configured to recover only a specific object related to the product including the container body of the predetermined type and the lid of the predetermined type of the product in which the content has been consumed; and a recycled material manufacturing system configured to manufacture recycled material by material recycling from the specific object related to the product including the recovered container body of the predetermined type and the lid of the predetermined type.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a recycling system.

Background Art

[0002] Generally, containers made of synthetic resin are used in various applications. Attention has been paid to the recycling of synthetic resin in order to realize a sustainable society. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses the material recycling of egg packs. An efficient recycling system for synthetic resin is required.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide an efficient recycling system for synthetic resin.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a recycling system includes a filling system configured to manufacture a product by filling a container body of a predetermined type made of synthetic resin with a content and sealing it with a lid of a predetermined type made of the same kind of synthetic resin as the container body, a recovery system configured to recover only specific products including the container body of the predetermined type and the lid of the predetermined type of the product from which the content has been consumed, and a recycled material manufacturing system configured to manufacture a recycled material by material recycling from the specific products including the container body of the predetermined type and the lid of the predetermined type recovered.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, an efficient recycling system for synthetic resins can be provided.

Brief Description of Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] [Overview of Circulation Type Recycling System] An embodiment of a circulation type recycling system will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of a circulation type recycling system 1 according to this embodiment. The circulation type recycling system 1 relates to products in containers made of synthetic resin and relates to the material recycling of containers made of synthetic resin. In the circulation type recycling system 1, after the contents are consumed, the container is recovered, and the same type of container is manufactured from the recycled material produced from the container. By manufacturing the same type of product again using the manufactured container, the material constituting the container circulates.

[0009] The material of the container used in the circulation type recycling system 1 is synthetic resin. This synthetic resin is preferably, but not limited to, a polyester resin. This synthetic resin is, for example, polyethylene terephthalate. The recycling referred to here is intended to be mechanical recycling (physical recycling method).

[0010] Not limited to this, as an example, a bottle-shaped container is particularly assumed for the container. Therefore, a polyethylene terephthalate bottle, so-called PET bottle, can be the target of the present recycling system 1. Containers made of polyethylene terephthalate are used in large quantities and the effects obtained by recycling are high.

[0011] Not limited to this, for example, the container can be composed of a container body such as a bottle and a lid. Not limited to this, in particular, the container body and the lid can be formed using the same type of synthetic resin, that is, a single material (monomaterial). The container can be formed, for example, by a polyethylene terephthalate bottle and a polyethylene terephthalate lid. Generally, the container body and the lid are often manufactured from different types of synthetic resins. On the other hand, in the collection of containers for recycling, the container body and the lid are often handled together. When the container body and the lid are manufactured from different types of synthetic resins, it is necessary to separate them in the recycling process. The fact that the same type of synthetic resin is used for the container body and the lid has the advantage that the container body and the lid, which are often handled together, can be handled without distinction during recycling.

[0012] In the recycling system 1, the materials constituting the container are configured to circulate efficiently. As a requirement for this, only specific containers that circulate in the present recycling system 1 are handled, and other containers and other synthetic resins do not enter the circulation of the present recycling system 1.

[0013] [Configuration example of recycling system] As shown in FIG. 1, the recycling system 1 includes a container body manufacturing system 10. The container body manufacturing system 10 is configured to manufacture a container body using a recycled material that circulates in the present recycling system 1 as a material. The container body to be manufactured corresponds to the product that circulates in the present recycling system 1. The container body related to the recycling system 1 is a container body made of synthetic resin and is a predetermined type of container body related to the recycling system 1.

[0014] The container body manufacturing system 10 has various machines and the like for manufacturing a container body from recycled materials as materials. Such machines and the like may include a plurality of machines according to the manufacturing process. The container body manufacturing system 10 may be entirely provided in one factory or the like. Further, the container body manufacturing system 10 may be distributed and arranged in a plurality of factories according to the process or the like. For manufacturing the container body, for example, injection blow molding including the hot parison method (1 stage) and the cold parison method (2 stages), direct blow molding, injection molding, compression molding, and other molding methods may be used, and any method of preform molding and container body molding may be used.

[0015] The circulation type recycling system 1 includes a lid manufacturing system 20. The lid manufacturing system 20 is configured to manufacture lids. The lids to be manufactured correspond to the products circulated in the present circulation type recycling system 1. The lids related to the circulation type recycling system 1 are lids made of the same type of synthetic resin as the container body and are predetermined types of lids related to the circulation type recycling system 1. However, the lid manufacturing system 20 is not limited to this, and may manufacture lids using virgin materials. Further, although not shown in FIG. 1, the lid manufacturing system 20 may mix recycled materials circulated in the present circulation type recycling system 1 with, for example, virgin materials and use them to manufacture lids. Any molding method may be used for manufacturing the lids.

[0016] The circulation type recycling system 1 includes a content manufacturing system 31. The content manufacturing system 31 is configured to manufacture contents that are put into containers and circulated in the present circulation type recycling system 1 and consumed by consumers 50. The content manufacturing system 31 has a configuration according to the contents to be manufactured. The contents are, for example, beverages, seasonings, and the like. Further, since the materials of the containers circulate for the same type of use in the circulation type recycling system 1, the contents may be, for example, oil, detergent, etc., depending on various conditions, and are not limited to liquids, but may also be solids.

[0017] The recycling system 1 includes a filling system 35. The filling system 35 is configured to fill the container body manufactured by the container body manufacturing system 10 with the contents manufactured by the contents manufacturing system 31, seal it using the lid manufactured by the lid manufacturing system 20, and manufacture a product.

[0018] The recycling system 1 includes a product distribution system 41. The product distribution system 41 is configured to distribute the manufactured product so that it reaches the consumer 50. The product distribution system 41 may include, for example, railways, trucks, delivery vehicles, etc. and their management systems, etc. Further, the product distribution system 41 may include retail stores and their stores, e-commerce trading systems, etc. Further, the product distribution system 41 may include a home delivery system, etc. Although the product distribution system 41 is generally composed of systems implemented with human involvement, a part or all of it may be composed of systems without human involvement, such as unmanned aircraft, self-driving vehicles, robots, etc.

[0019] In the recycling system 1, the consumer 50 acquires the product via the product distribution system 41. The consumer 50 consumes the contents of the acquired product. The consumer 50 separates the container that has become empty after consuming the contents, that is, the container body and the lid. It is preferable that the consumer 50 simply washes the container body and the lid.

[0020] The recycling system 1 includes a container collection system 45. The container collection system 45 is configured to collect and transport the container separated by the consumer 50 after consumption of the contents of the product so that it reaches the flake manufacturing system 60. The container collection system 45 may include, for example, railways, trucks, delivery vehicles, etc. and their management systems, etc. Although the container collection system 45 is generally composed of systems implemented with human involvement, a part or all of it may be composed of systems without human involvement, such as unmanned aircraft, self-driving vehicles, robots, etc.

[0021] In the circular recycling system 1, the container collection system 45 is configured to collect only specific items related to the products of the circular recycling system 1, such as only containers including the container body and lid related to this circular recycling system 1. In the circular recycling system 1, it is required that other containers or the like do not mix into this circular recycling system 1. Specific items related to the products including the containers collected by the container collection system 45 may include, for example, labels provided on the containers and other accessories. However, since these accessories are known items, unnecessary items can be appropriately removed in subsequent recycling processes.

[0022] Here, the case where the container body and the lid are formed of the same type of synthetic resin and the recycling material is manufactured using the container body and the lid is described. If the container body and the lid are manufactured from different types of synthetic resins and the recycling material is manufactured from, for example, only the container body, even if the container body and the lid are collected together as specific items by the container collection system 45, the lid will be removed as an unnecessary item in the recycling process. Alternatively, in this case, the container collection system 45 may collect only the container body or only the container body and the label around it as specific items.

[0023] The container collection system 45 is provided with a mechanism for collecting only specific items. For example, the container collection system 45 may include an empty container separate collection system paired with the home delivery system of the product distribution system 41. In the empty container separate collection system, for example, the consumer 50 puts the empty container body and lid into a home delivery box provided in front of their home, which is provided for receiving the product in the home delivery system of the product distribution system 41. A person who is a delivery person of the product distribution system 41 and a collector of the container collection system 45 collects the container body and lid placed in the home delivery box. The container body and lid collected from each consumer 50 are transported to the flake manufacturing system 60 via the container collection system 45.

[0024] Alternatively, for example, the container recycling system 45 may include a dedicated container recycling box provided at a retail store. This container recycling box may be configured so that other containers or the like are not put in. For example, an identifier is attached to the container according to the present recycling system 1, and this recycling box may be configured to receive only the containers according to the present recycling system 1 by identifying them with this identifier. This recycling box may be configured to return a deposit when receiving a container. The collected container body and lid are transported to the flake manufacturing system 60 via the container recycling system 45.

[0025] The recycling system 1 includes a flake manufacturing system 60 which is a recycling material manufacturing system. The flake manufacturing system 60 is configured to manufacture flakes of a recycling material from the containers collected by the container recycling system 45. The flake manufacturing system 60 has various machines and the like for manufacturing flakes of a recycling material from the collected containers. As described above, in the present recycling system 1, the containers to be collected are limited to only specific items such as the containers according to the present recycling system 1. For this reason, the flake manufacturing system 60 has a configuration adapted thereto. The flake manufacturing system 60 has, for example, reduced processes for sorting foreign matters and for sorting materials of different types. By such reduction of processes, the flake manufacturing system 60 realizes a high yield of the recycling material. The flakes manufactured by the flake manufacturing system 60 are sent to the container body manufacturing system 10 and used for manufacturing the container body. The container body manufacturing system 10 manufactures the above-described predetermined types of container bodies using the flakes manufactured by the flake manufacturing system 60. The container body manufacturing system 10 may manufacture the predetermined types of container bodies by adding virgin materials or the like to the flakes manufactured by the flake manufacturing system 60.

[0026] Note that the recycling material manufacturing system of the circulation-type recycling system 1 may have not only the flake manufacturing system 60 but also a pellet manufacturing system that manufactures pellets from flakes. In this case, the container body may be manufactured from the pellets. However, pelletization increases the number of processes and consumes more energy. For this reason, in the circulation-type recycling system 1, it is preferable that the container body is manufactured directly from the flakes without pelletizing the flakes.

[0027] Also, not all of the flakes manufactured by the flake manufacturing system 60 need to be used in the container body manufacturing system 10. A part of the manufactured flakes or pellets made from the flakes may be taken out of the circulation-type recycling system 1 and used for other purposes.

[0028] [Regarding the Circulation-Type Recycling System] As described above, in the circulation-type recycling system 1, the materials used for manufacturing the container body circulate. By the device of the container recovery system 45, the containers circulating in the circulation-type recycling system 1 are limited. For this reason, the processes in the flake manufacturing system 60 are reduced, and a high yield in the flake manufacturing system 60 can be obtained. As a result, a high recycling rate can be realized for the entire circulation-type recycling system 1.

[0029] In the circulation-type recycling system 1, since the materials used are limited within the cycle, high quality is maintained for the manufactured containers. Also, virgin material is used for the lid, and a certain amount of this virgin material is introduced into the cycle, so high quality is maintained for the manufactured containers. That is, the quality of the recycled material may deteriorate when recycling is repeated. On the other hand, the recycling yield cannot be 100%, and a predetermined amount is lost from the circulation-type recycling system 1. By introducing the lid manufactured using virgin material by this lost amount, the high quality of the recycled material is maintained.

[0030] The above-described effects are particularly remarkable in the case of a container being a bottle for containing a liquid. That is, plastic bottles are widely used in large quantities for various applications due to their excellent properties. Therefore, generally, in the collection of plastic bottles for recycling, various bottles in various states are collected in a mixed state. For this reason, in the production of recycled materials, various sorts of sorting are required, resulting in a decrease in the yield of recycled materials and making it difficult to manage the quality of recycled materials. For this reason, the recycled materials that have been circulating in the market conventionally have unstable quality. Attempts to improve this point mainly involve improving the accuracy of removing unnecessary substances in each process or improving the yield of each process. In contrast, the above-described cyclic recycling system 1 is configured to collect only specific objects related to the cyclic recycling system 1 and produce recycled materials, so that a relatively large amount of easily stable and high-quality recycled materials can be obtained. Thus, the above-described cyclic recycling system 1 is particularly effective when the container is a bottle.

[0031] In the cyclic recycling system 1, the quality of recycled materials is managed by collecting only specific containers. Therefore, for each of the container body and the lid related to the cyclic recycling system 1, various designs such as various processing can be performed within a range that does not affect its recyclability. For example, for containers such as the container body and the lid, processing such as crystallization of the material, foam molding thereof, laser processing on its surface, printing, vapor deposition, printing using inkjet, etc. may be performed within a range that does not affect its recyclability. Also, for example, for containers such as the container body and the lid, within a range that does not affect its recyclability, different materials may be used for the container, a multi-layer structure of two or more layers containing additives may be adopted, or a blend structure may be adopted. Also, for example, for containers such as the container body and the lid, a multi-layer structure including two or more layers with different uses or moldability, etc. may be adopted using a plurality of materials of the same type but with different properties, or a plurality of materials of the same type but with different properties may be blended and used.

[0032] [Example of home delivery of beverages] A more specific example of the cyclic recycling system will be described. In this example, the contents are milk, processed milk, milk beverages, lactic acid bacteria beverages, etc., and the container body is a bottle for containing such beverages. That is, in this example, the predetermined type of container refers to a predetermined type of bottle and lid for containing such milk, processed milk, milk beverages, lactic acid bacteria beverages, etc. Regarding such beverages, a system in which beverages in small-sized containers are individually delivered to consumers' homes and empty bottles are collected from consumers' homes is well-developed. Although it is known that such a collection system is utilized, for example, in the reuse of glass bottles, such a collection system has not been utilized for the material recycling of synthetic resins.

[0033] Not limited to this, in this example, the bottle is manufactured using a recycled material of polyethylene terephthalate, and the lid is manufactured using a virgin material of polyethylene terephthalate. The reason for using the virgin material in the manufacture of the lid is, for example, as follows. The lid is required to be molded into a more complex and precise shape compared to the bottle in order to ensure openability, sealing performance, etc. In recycled materials, compared to virgin materials, the amount of oligomers generated is large, and the variation in intrinsic viscosity (IV) is large, so it is difficult to perform injection molding with high precision, and the dimensional stability tends to deteriorate. For example, short shots due to insufficient filling and cracks due to overfilling tend to occur easily. Therefore, in this example, a virgin material with higher moldability than the recycled material is used in the manufacture of the lid. In addition, the top surface portion of the lid is thick. In order to ensure the transparency of the top surface portion, a virgin material with higher transparency is used in the manufacture of the lid.

[0034] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing an outline of the cyclic recycling system 2 according to this example.

[0035] In this cyclic recycling system 2, the bottle, which is the container body, is manufactured by the cold parison method. That is, the cyclic recycling system 2 includes a preform manufacturing system 11 and a bottle blow molding system 12 as a bottle manufacturing system corresponding to the above-described container body manufacturing system 10.

[0036] The preform manufacturing system 11 is provided in the preform factory 120. The preform manufacturing system 11 is a system that manufactures preforms using flakes of synthetic resin, which are recycled materials. The preform manufacturing system 11 may include, for example, an injection molding machine that melts the flakes and manufactures preforms by injection molding using the melted synthetic resin. The preforms manufactured by the preform manufacturing system 11 in the preform factory 120 are transported to the beverage factory 320.

[0037] The cap manufacturing system 20 is provided in the cap manufacturing factory 220. The cap manufacturing system 20 is a system that manufactures caps using virgin materials. The cap manufacturing system 20 may include, for example, an injection molding machine that melts the virgin synthetic resin and manufactures caps by injection molding using the melted synthetic resin. The caps manufactured by the cap manufacturing system 20 in the cap manufacturing factory 220 are transported to the beverage factory 320.

[0038] The beverage factory 320 is provided with a bottle blow molding system 12. The bottle blow molding system 12 manufactures bottles by blow molding in the beverage factory 320 using the preforms manufactured by the preform manufacturing system 11. The bottle blow molding system 12 may include, for example, a heating machine that heats the preforms, a biaxial stretch blow molding machine that forms bottles from the heated preforms, and the like.

[0039] The beverage factory 320 is equipped with a beverage manufacturing system 32. The beverage manufacturing system 32 manufactures beverages such as milk, processed milk, milk beverages, and lactic acid bacteria beverages. The beverage factory 320 is equipped with a beverage filling system 36. The beverage filling system 36 fills the bottles manufactured by the bottle blow molding system 12 with the beverages manufactured by the beverage manufacturing system 32 and seals them using the caps manufactured by the cap manufacturing system 20. The form of the seal between the bottle and the cap may be by screw, by capping, or by other methods. The bottled beverage products manufactured as described above are shipped. The shape of the bottle may be any shape. For example, it may be a round bottle or a square bottle. If importance is attached to the efficiency of transportation, a square bottle with a small gap between adjacent bottles when the bottles are arranged is preferable.

[0040] In this example, in the distribution of products and the like, there is an intervening retailer 420 that delivers door-to-door to deliver the products to the consumers 50. The products manufactured at the beverage factory 320 are transported to each retailer 420. The retailer 420 delivers the products to the consumer's home 520 by a home delivery system 42 by a delivery person or the like and delivers them to the consumers 50. The consumers 50 consume the beverages of the received products. The consumers 50 store the emptied bottles and caps after consuming the beverages and return the bottles and caps at the time of the next delivery by the retailer 420 or the like. The retailer 420 recovers the empty bottles and caps by an empty bottle recovery system 46 by a delivery person or the like. That is, the retailer 420 delivers the products to the consumer's home 520 by a home delivery system 42 by a delivery person or the like and takes back the empty bottles and caps by an empty bottle recovery system 46 by a delivery person or the like. In this way, the empty bottle recovery system 46 in this example can recover only specific containers related to this product, such as bottles and caps, even if there is a label attached as an accessory.

[0041] For collecting only specific containers, various tools can be used. A delivery box is one such tool. The delivery box has the effect of clarifying that only the delivered product or an empty specific container can be placed inside. Further, the delivery box may be provided with a function of detecting when something other than the specific container is placed inside and notifying that detection. Also, a terminal for assisting or managing the delivery of products and the collection of containers used by the delivery person may be used. This terminal can communicate with a management system. For example, if an identifier is attached to the container and the delivery person reads this identifier using the terminal, the delivery of products and the collection of containers may be managed. Even without using an identifier, analysis of the image of the container or the like may be performed. Such management ensures that collection is limited to specific containers. Also, without the involvement of the delivery person, unmanned aircraft, self-driving vehicles, robots, etc. may perform similar operations.

[0042] The returned empty bottles and caps are transported to the accumulation / washing factory 720. The empty bottles and caps are collected at the accumulation / washing factory 720 and washed by a washing system 70 provided at the accumulation / washing factory 720. Since the contents of the containers to be collected are specified, the components to be removed by washing can also be specified according to the contents. Therefore, an efficient washing method can be easily adopted in the washing system 70. Also, since the types of containers to be collected are limited, the washing system 70 can perform appropriate washing in a relatively easy way, such as aligning the bottles for washing.

[0043] Also, when accessories such as labels and tack seals are provided on the bottle, in the cleaning system 70, such accessories as the label may be removed. That is, the cleaning system 70 may include a label peeling and separating device. The removal of accessories such as labels may also be performed later at the recycling factory 620. By peeling the label at the accumulation / cleaning factory 720, accessories such as labels can be removed from the bottle before crushing, and the removal of accessories can be facilitated. Also, within a range where it does not affect recyclability, the container such as the bottle and the lid may be processed by the flake manufacturing system 60 in the recycling factory 620 described later with accessories such as labels and tack seals attached to the container. For example, when accessories such as labels and tack seals are made of the same material as the container such as the bottle and the lid, they can be processed together by the flake manufacturing system 60 with the accessories attached to the container.

[0044] Also, when the type of the bottle is limited and specified, since only the weight of the bottle can be specified, it may be possible to remove a bottle with foreign matter, for example, by weight sorting. This sorting may also be performed later at the recycling factory 620.

[0045] The empty bottles and lids after cleaning and / or label removal are transported to the recycling factory 620.

[0046] Note that all of the steps assumed to be performed at the above-described accumulation / cleaning factory 720 may be performed at the recycling factory 620.

[0047] In this way, the home delivery system 42 of the store 420 forms a part of the product distribution system 41. Also, the empty bottle collection system 46 of the store 420 forms a part of the container collection system 45.

[0048] The recycling factory 620 includes a flake manufacturing system 60. The flake manufacturing system 60 manufactures flakes, which are recycled materials, from the empty bottles and lids washed by the cleaning system 70 received from the accumulation / cleaning factory 720. The manufacture of flakes will be described in detail later.

[0049] The flakes produced by the flake manufacturing system 60 are transported to the preform factory 120. These flakes are used in the production of preforms in the preform manufacturing system 11 of the preform factory 120. Note that the preform manufacturing system 11 may be provided with decontamination equipment or the like appropriately designed according to the flake manufacturing system 60, that is, according to the flakes produced by the flake manufacturing system 60.

[0050] As described above, the polyethylene terephthalate bottles circulate within the recycling system 2. For this circulation, a certain amount of caps made of virgin polyethylene terephthalate material is introduced.

[0051] [Example of Flake Manufacturing System] An example of the flake manufacturing system 60 in the recycling factory 620 of the recycling system 2 described with reference to FIG. 2 above will be described in detail.

[0052] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing in the flake manufacturing system 60. Here, the case where labels and the like have been removed from the bottles is shown, but if labels and the like have not been removed, a label removal step can be added first. Also, if the labels and the like are made of the same material as the container and do not affect recyclability, they may be processed together with the bottles and the like in the following steps without being removed.

[0053] In step S1, the containers recovered and washed in the flake manufacturing system 60 are input. In step S2, non-ferrous metal sorting is performed by a non-ferrous metal sorter. In step S3, metal sorting is performed by a metal detector.

[0054] In this recycling system 2, basically, only the containers related to this recycling system 2 are input into the flake manufacturing system 60. However, for example, the mixing of metals has a great impact on the machine, the quality of recycled materials, and other aspects. Therefore, as a precaution, metal sorting and the like are carried out. As a result, even if there is a mistake in the collection of containers, the adverse effects caused thereby can be avoided. If it can be confirmed by another method that there is no mistake in the collection, non-metal sorting and metal sorting will not be necessary.

[0055] In step S4, the container is roughly crushed. Further, in step S5, the roughly crushed container is finely crushed and processed into flakes. When bottles and the like are relatively thick, as shown here, it is appropriate to provide a two-stage crushing process of rough crushing and fine crushing. On the other hand, when bottles and the like are relatively thin, the rough crushing may be omitted and only a one-stage crushing process of fine crushing may be adopted.

[0056] In step S6, the resin derived from the finely crushed flake-shaped container is alkali-washed, and then, in step S7, it is dehydrated. Further, in step S8, the flake-shaped resin is rinsed and, in step S9, dehydrated.

[0057] In step S10, if there is metal contamination, it is removed using a magnet catcher. Thereafter, it may be confirmed using a metal detector that there is no metal.

[0058] In step S11, the flakes of the recycled material manufactured by the above-mentioned crushing and washing processes are stored in a flake tank. These flakes are later transported to the preform factory 120.

[0059] The above process is an example, and depending on various conditions such as product warranty, equipment protection, yield, product specifications, etc., addition, deletion, change of order, etc. of the process can be carried out.

[0060] Generally, at a recycling material factory, the collected PET bottles are carried in a bale state where they are compressed and bundled with a binding material. This bale is unpacked at the recycling material factory, and the contents and foreign substances remaining in the mixed-in bottles are removed by a punching machine or a vibrating sieve, and furthermore, unsuitable items such as labels and caps are removed manually. These processes reduce the yield of the recycled material and also increase the cost.

[0061] On the other hand, in the circular recycling system 2, only the containers related to this circular recycling system 2 are collected by the empty bottle collection system 46 of the store 420, and are washed at the accumulation / washing factory 720 and not baled. Therefore, processes such as bale unpacking, punching, vibrating sieve, and manual sorting can be omitted. For this reason, not only is the processing easy, but the yield is increased and cost reduction is achieved.

[0062] In the process of manufacturing flakes of recycled material related to general PET bottles, the PET bottles are pulverized together with the labels, and then, in order to remove the labels, air separation using an air separator is performed. On the other hand, in the flake manufacturing system 60 of the circular recycling system 2, the labels are removed before pulverization, for example, the labels are removed from the bottles by the washing system 70. In the process of removing the labels using the label peeling and separating device in the washing system 70 or the like, a considerably high bottle yield can be obtained. In the flake manufacturing system 60, since the bottles with the labels removed are pulverized, this air separation is not required. For this reason, a decrease in yield due to air separation is also avoided, and a high yield of the recycled material can be obtained. For example, the powdery PET powder that would be removed together when performing air separation can be utilized without being removed.

[0063] In addition, if the labels cannot be removed before pulverization, etc., if necessary, air separation may be performed in the flake manufacturing system 60 although the yield will decrease. Even in this case, for example, when the bottles are relatively thick like conventional milk bottles, for example, when the thickness is 0.2 mm or more, the yield of the PET material in the air separation is relatively high.

[0064] In the process of manufacturing flakes of recycled materials related to general PET bottles, flakes derived from lids made of polypropylene or polyethylene are mixed into the flakes derived from PET bottles. Therefore, a specific gravity separation process is carried out to obtain only the PET resin. On the other hand, in the flake manufacturing system 60 of the circulation type recycling system 2, only PET bottles and PET lids are processed, so this specific gravity separation process is not necessary. For this reason, a decrease in the yield due to specific gravity separation is also avoided, and a high yield of recycled materials can be obtained.

[0065] As described above, due to the limitation of the containers input into the flake manufacturing system 60 by the empty bottle collection system 46 of the circulation type recycling system 2, many of the processes required in the process of manufacturing flakes of recycled materials related to general PET bottles can be excluded. By excluding many processes, a high yield of recycled materials can be obtained as a whole. The excluded processes can be appropriately designed according to various conditions.

[0066] In addition, by reducing the processes, energy is saved, and the effect of reducing carbon dioxide emissions can also be obtained. Not only the reduction of processes, but also the reduction of energy consumption in each process becomes possible. For example, in the grinding process, the energy input for grinding can be adjusted to the necessary and sufficient amount of energy according to the grinding of the container, and the reduction of energy consumption becomes possible.

[0067] In addition, since the input containers are limited, it can be expected that the deterioration of the cleaning liquid, etc. will also be suppressed compared to the general case. Also, since the types of containers are limited and the size and shape of the containers are limited, the degree of freedom in the design of the machines used in the conveying process and the grinding process is increased.

[0068] [Regarding the Circulation Rate of the Circulation Type Recycling System] The circulation rate of the circulation type recycling system will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0069] For example, assume that a 20 g container is composed of an 18 g container body and a 2 g lid. That is, assume that in the container, the weight ratio is such that the proportion of the container body is 90% and the proportion of the lid is 10%. Suppose such a container is recycled and processed in the flake manufacturing system 60 of the recycling factory 620 to produce flakes which are recycled materials. Assume that the yield of the flake manufacturing system 60 at this time is 90%. In this case, the flakes obtained from one container will be 18 g. Considering using this for the manufacture of one container body, in this closed-loop recycling system, the container body can be manufactured only from recycled materials. By manufacturing the lid using virgin materials, this closed-loop recycling system can be circulated in a state limited only to the materials related to the container. The above-mentioned ratios are considered reasonable values for implementation.

[0070] When the yield of the flake manufacturing system 60 is lower, by adding virgin materials to the container body, a closed-loop recycling system with circulation limited only to the materials related to the container can be realized. Also, when the proportion of the lid in the container is low, by adding virgin materials to the container body, a closed-loop recycling system with circulation limited only to the materials related to the container can be realized.

[0071] Conversely, when the yield of the flake manufacturing system 60 is higher or when the proportion of the lid in the container is high, the flakes of the recycled materials obtained in the flake manufacturing system 60 can be taken out of the closed-loop recycling system and the flakes may be used for other purposes.

[0072] Depending on conditions such as formability, virgin materials may be added to and adjusted in the material of the container body, or recycled materials may be added to and adjusted in the material of the lid. However, manufacturing the lid only from virgin materials has the advantage that there is no need to provide a blending process of virgin materials and recycled materials in the lid manufacturing process.

[0073] The yield of the flake manufacturing system 60 can be, for example, 80 - 95%. The proportion of the lid in the container can be, for example, 5 - 20%. The proportion of the container body in the container can be, for example, 95 - 80%. In such a situation, the proportion of the virgin material used for the container body can be adjusted, or the flakes of the recycled material can be taken out of the closed-loop recycling system and adjusted as appropriate.

[0074] Regarding the above-mentioned virgin material, instead of or in addition to the virgin material, a material equivalent to the virgin material such as a recycled material by chemical recycling (chemical recycling method) may be used. Also, a material equivalent to the virgin material such as a recycled material by biorecycling may be used.

[0075] [Regarding the arrangement of each system] In the above example, an example where the beverage factory 320, the integration / washing factory 720, the recycling factory 620, and the preform factory 120 are all separate factories is shown, but it is not limited to this. A plurality of the systems provided in these may be provided within one factory. For example, the preform manufacturing system 11 may be provided within the beverage factory 320, or in addition to the preform manufacturing system 11, the flake manufacturing system 60 may also be provided in the beverage factory 320. Also, the washing system 70 may be provided in the beverage factory 320. Further, a part or all of the preform manufacturing system 11, the flake manufacturing system 60, and the washing system 70 may be provided within one factory.

[0076] Although a cyclic recycling system has been described as an example, some of the various advantages described above can be obtained not only in cyclic systems. For example, if a container recycling system can recycle only specific items, it becomes possible to reduce the processes in the subsequent recycled material manufacturing system, and it also becomes possible to improve the yield. In addition, since the characteristics of the recycled containers input into the recycling process are known, quality control of the recycled materials becomes easier. Further, since the containers to be recycled are a container body manufactured using recycled materials and a lid manufactured using virgin materials, the quality of the recycled materials can be maintained better than when manufacturing recycled materials only from recycled materials.

[0077] As described above, the present invention has been described by showing preferred embodiments. However, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited only to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0078] 1, 2: Cyclic recycling system 10: Container body manufacturing system, 11: Preform manufacturing system, 12: Bottle blow molding system 20: Lid manufacturing system 31: Contents manufacturing system, 32: Beverage manufacturing system, 35: Filling system, 36: Beverage filling system 41: Product distribution system, 42: Home delivery system, 45: Container recycling system, 46: Empty bottle recycling system 50: Consumer 60: Flake manufacturing system 70: Cleaning system 120: Preform factory, 220: Lid manufacturing factory, 320: Beverage factory, 420: Retail store, 520: Consumer's home, 620: Recycling factory, 720: Aggregation / Cleaning factory

Claims

1. A filling system configured to manufacture a product by filling a container body of a predetermined type made of synthetic resin with a content and sealing it with a lid of a predetermined type made of the same type of synthetic resin as the container body, A recovery system configured to recover only specific products including the container body of the predetermined type and the lid of the predetermined type of the product after the content has been consumed, A recycled material manufacturing system configured to manufacture recycled materials by material recycling from the specific products including the recovered container body of the predetermined type and the lid of the predetermined type, A recycling system comprising the above.

2. The recycling system according to claim 1, wherein the recycled material manufacturing system does not include a manual sorting process and a specific gravity separation process.

3. The recycling system according to claim 2, wherein the recycled material manufacturing system does not include a wind sorting process.

4. The recycling system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the recycled material manufacturing system includes a process of pulverizing the container body and the lid after removing labels that may be provided on the container body and the lid.

5. All of the container bodies are manufactured using recycled materials by material recycling, All of the lids are manufactured using virgin materials or materials equivalent to virgin materials, The recycling system according to claim 1.

6. A container body manufacturing system configured to manufacture the container body using at least partially recycled materials manufactured by the recycled material manufacturing system so that the recycled materials circulate, A lid manufacturing system configured to manufacture the lid using at least partially virgin materials or materials equivalent to virgin materials, The recycling system according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 5, further comprising

7. further comprising a delivery system for delivering the product manufactured by the filling system to the consumer's home, wherein the recovery system is configured to recover the specific product related to the product including the container body and the lid from the consumer's home, The recycling system according to claim 1.

8. The recycling system according to claim 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7, wherein the synthetic resin is polyester.

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