Comparative Analysis of Perforation Line Structure of PET Shrink Labels

Abstract

Global warming is causing worldwide climate issues such as droughts, heavy rainfalls, snowstorms, extreme heat, and cold temperatures, which are all threatening human life. Due to the increasing importance of environmental protection, Korea enacted the ‘Resource Circulation Basic Act’ in 2020. On December 25th, 2020, the ‘Transparent PET Bottle Separate Collection Act’ went into effect in Korea, requiring that clear PET bottles be separated and disposed of in separate recycling bins after the labels are removed. However, according to a consumer survey conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency in 2021 on the separate collection of transparent PET bottles, more than 70% of consumers expressed that the removal of labels was the most inconvenient aspect. Therefore, in this study, we analyzed and compared the structure and form of PET shrink label perforation lines with eco-friendly labels introduced in the middle of transparent PET bottle labels from five selected domestic brands in Korea. As a result, we confirmed that the perforation of PET shrink labels may vary according to the structure of the perforation lines, as we found that the perforation structures of each brand were different from each other.