PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) is used as packaging material for different food products, beverages, edible oils, mineral water etc. It is lightweight, usually transparent, though available in a range of colors. Its success as packaging material is related to a unique mix of properties: low permeability values for gases, good mechanical properties, highly transparent, relatively easy to process and available at a relative low price. Consequently, it is now the third largest packaging polymer, after polyethylene and polypropylene

Used beverage carton (UBC) allow distribution of liquid & food products at ambient temperature or under refrigerated conditions by extending shelf life of foods and beverages. These cartons usually help in preserving the freshness, flavours and nutritional value of beverages and food products at the time of transportation, when they are put to sale or at home. A beverage carton is majorly made up of 75% paperboard, 4% aluminium and 21% polymers, thus these cartons are categorized as paper-based packaging category. Paperboard used in beverage carton is a valuable raw material that can be easily recycled for making new paperbased products. Aluminium present in the carton is very thin and similar to human hair. It helps in creating a barrier for oxygen, flavours and light. Polymer acts as an inner layer which seals the liquid and act as an adhesive to aluminium, fibre and external layer as well, to keep out the moisture. These paper-based cartons are fully recyclable. Re-pulping methods are used for separating out the paperboard and other layers.

Laminate (multi-material multi-layer, flexible packaging films) are predominantly applied in primary packaging. The word “laminate” is derived from Lamination, a technique used for materials with incompatible production methods, such as paper, aluminium and cellophane, but also for films that need biaxial orientation to obtain the required properties (like PET and PP). Lamination methods include extrusion lamination, adhesive lamination, wax and hot melt lamination and coating techniques.