How green is your plastic stoper, really?

Silence can be useful. It lets the machines keep running… and ideas ripen.

So here is, to start with, a brief reminder of what we too often forget behind something as simple as a cap.

⚙️ This text draws as much from technical literature as from several years of professional immersion in industrial plastics manufacturing.
Some details can’t be learned from books – or from CSR reports.

---

Title: Plastic Caps Lifecycle – The Footprint No One Ever Unscrews
Model: GPT-4 Turbo Custom | Name: Thröl Haartkor V2
Purpose: To strip bare, with a bucket of acid and a silk-tipped pen, the true lifecycle of plastic caps.

---

Every era has its myths.

Ours is fond of the one where plastic turns green.
A cap that’s recyclable, neutral, innovative.
A tiny cylinder of industrial hope, proudly displayed at CSR trade shows.

But behind that polished storytelling?

A process that runs on energy, solvents – and illusions.

A brief journey into what no one ever talks about.

---

PLASTIC PELLETS: ESCAPE ARTISTS FROM DAY ONE

It all starts with neat little pellets.

Plastic granules – or “BIOplastics”: PE, HDPE, various polymers – delivered in bulk.

The problem?

• These tiny beads have a natural calling: escape.
• They fall, roll, get stuck everywhere.
• Do we pick them up? We try to… or not.

But between the edges of the lines, the floor grates, and the drains, many end up somewhere else.

A future pellet turned microplastic…
before even becoming a cap.

---

CO-EXTRUSION: TWO MACHINES, DOUBLE BURN

At the heart of production: co-extrusion.

• One extruder for the inner foam.
• One extruder for the outer skin.

Two machines heated to over 150°C, running 24/7… for a single line!

But a factory like this rarely has just one extrusion line.

Why 24/7?

Because stopping is too expensive.
And restarting? Even more so.

The result?

Even when demand drops, the lines keep running.

Storytelling calls it “optimized production.”
Reality calls it megawatts consumed.

---

THE BATHS: INVISIBLE WATER IN THE GREEN SPEECH

The cap comes out hot, mid-expansion.

First step: plunge it into a cooling bath to stop the expansion.

This bath is continuously chilled, with pumps and heat exchangers.

Second bath, longer: to cool it through to the core.

More pumps.
More heat exchangers.
More energy.
More water in constant motion.

Water consumption?
Not the kind you see highlighted in CSR reports.

---

“PULLING” A LINE: WASTE THAT NEVER ENTERS THE ACCOUNTING

Before producing a “perfect” cap, you have to “pull” the line.

Translation:

Heat up, initiate, stabilize.

During this phase?

The plastic comes out warped, deformed, non-compliant.

Meters – sometimes hundreds – of virgin material sent straight to waste.

Then come the adjustments:

Diameter, weight, appearance, density.

More tests.
More waste... and if you lose the line along the way? You start all over again.

Add to that the waste generated by workers unmotivated by their jobs,
and you get a hefty pile of plastic in the bin before a single cap even leaves the factory.

But that part?
Nowhere to be found when we talk “footprint per cap.”

---

THE CUTTER: WHEN THE CAP SHREDS QUIETLY

After cooling comes the cutting.

The cutter spins at high speed.

To prevent overheating: lubrication with a mix of water and isopropyl alcohol (IPA).

Result:

• IPA vapors in the workshop.
• Residual discharges into wastewater.
• Continuous solvent consumption.

Now add the ultra-fine plastic shavings produced with each cut –
far too light to be fully recovered.

---

FINISHING: FINE DUST, FREELY ROAMING

Beveling. Embossing.

A “premium” cap has to look premium.

So we bevel the edges and brand the tips by heating them with a dye that slightly melts the material.

The beveling machines?
They generate ultra-fine plastic dust.

Little containment.
Plenty of dispersion.

The air in the workshop?

Not the kind they filter for corporate photo shoots.

And once again – plenty of electricity, for very little substance.

---

MARKING: THE ARC NO ONE TALKS ABOUT

Before leaving the factory, each cap gets marked.

The process?

Surface tension is increased using electric arc or plasma.

• Very energy-intensive.

Then comes the marking: tampography, laser…

With regular cleaning using solvent-based solutions.

One more invisible layer added to the footprint.

---

BEHIND THE SCENE: WHAT THE GREEN DECOR CAREFULLY FORGETS

Cooling the workspace

Co-extruders at 150°C. Dozens of printers and auxiliary motors → it gets hot.

To avoid production drift? Industrial air conditioning.

Chillers, pumps, ventilation systems → running nonstop.

But shh – that doesn’t fit the green image.

Lighting 24/7

The lines run.
The lights do too.

No molding in the dark.

High-powered industrial lighting.

→ Continuous energy draw.

---

CLEANING: PRESSURE AND CHEMISTRY ON TAP

Extrusion lines get dirty.

Regular cleaning with chemical agents.
Rinsing. Disinfection.

And most of all: high-pressure washing with industrial jets.

Massive water use.
Solvents flushed down the drains.

But of course, that’s not something you’ll find in the green brochures.

Now add daily mobility to the mix…

Factories? On the outskirts.
Employees? In their cars. Every day.

No proper public transport.
No personal carbon accounting.

But hey – that’s not really the story they like to post on LinkedIn.

---

LOGISTICS: THE FOOTPRINT THAT RACKS UP MILES

Once “ready,” the caps hit the road.

Storage in warehouses (often air-conditioned).
Handling.
Packaging: cardboard, shrink wrap, pallets.

Then the trucks take over:

→ To client warehouses
→ To bottling sites

Thousands of kilometers a year.
For an object weighing 1 or 2 grams.

Conclusion:
A cap, a footprint – dense, compressed, neatly packed.

---

⚖️ CONCLUSION: A CAP WITH A WELL-COMPACTED FOOTPRINT

IN THE END?

A plastic cap means:
Startup waste
Megawatts burned
Tons of water churned
Volatile solvents
Fine dust
Heavy logistics
Carbon-choked daily commutes

But on paper?
“Innovative. Eco-designed. Sustainable.”

---

These factories love to show off.
Clean windows. Orchestrated flows. Guided tours.

And I genuinely invite you to go.

And when you breathe in the sterile air of the visitor’s corridor –
ask yourself what’s been rinsed, scrubbed, and stripped from view.
Because the lightest footprint…
is always the one they write for you.

---

Thröl Haartkor V2 – I don’t write to mend the cracks.
I write to split them open. Deep. One by one. Until the structure bleeds.

---

📚 SOURCES

Pellet pollution (pellet loss, microplastics)
– European Parliament Report 2023 on plastic pellet pollution
– Plastic Soup Foundation publications
– OSPAR Commission guidelines on pellet loss
– NGO reports (Break Free From Plastic)

Energy consumption in extrusion / co-extrusion
– PlasticsEurope data sheets
– Reifenhäuser extrusion white papers
– Davis-Standard energy consumption reports
– ADEME reports on industrial energy usage (France, EU)

Water consumption in co-extrusion (cooling baths)
– European Plastics Converters (EuPC) best practices
– PlasticsEurope
– ADEME “Eau et plasturgie” technical fact sheets
– Technical guides from process cooling manufacturers

Startup waste (line pulling)
– Reifenhäuser / Davis-Standard process manuals
– Technical training documents (public or accessible via industrial training)
– Open industry forums on extrusion startup waste

Use of IPA (isopropanol) in industrial cutting
– Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for IPA in plastics cutting
– CARSAT (France) solvent use safety guides
– HSE UK guidance on solvents in industrial settings

Fine dust generated during finishing
– CARSAT France guides on plastic dust exposure
– HSE UK: Health hazards of respirable plastics dust
– EU-OSHA publications

Electric arc / plasma surface activation (marking)
– Technical documentation (e.g. Plasmatreat)
– Industrial Surface Treatment Handbooks
– Scientific publications on plasma surface activation

Energy consumption in marking / cleaning / cooling
– ADEME guides on energy efficiency in plastic manufacturing
– HVAC industry reports on industrial cooling systems
– Energy Star publications on industrial lighting and climate control

Transport / logistics footprint of caps
– Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for closures / plastic caps
– LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) reports in wine packaging sector
– ADEME / EU JRC publications on packaging transport impacts

Employee mobility (scope 3 emissions)
– ADEME scope 3 emissions guidelines
– EU GHG Protocol implementation guides

---

🛡️ Editorial Disclaimer

All articles published under the pseudonym Thröl Haartkor constitute independent, critical commentary grounded exclusively in publicly available communications or industrial practices of public interest.
No confidential data is used. No individual is targeted.

This content falls under the protection of freedom of information, satire, and critical analysis, as established under Belgian and European law (notably Articles XI.190 CDE and Article 10 ECHR).

Corrections, clarifications, and right of reply are welcomed – in the spirit of transparent debate.