Which returned bottles should be separated before washing?
Returned bottles should be separated when their source, previous contents, damage, closure, label system or contamination level could change the washing result. Sorting before washing protects the process from bottles that are not recoverable or need a different route.
- Broken, chipped or cracked glass
- Unknown previous contents or chemical contamination
- Excessive soil, foreign objects or heavy dried residue
- Unsupported bottle sizes, neck openings or base shapes
- Labels or adhesives known to require a separate removal stage
How should quarantine be used in a reusable-bottle process?
Quarantine should hold bottles whose condition cannot yet be accepted or rejected. The decision might depend on inspection, sample washing, label-removal testing, chemical review or confirmation from production. Quarantine prevents uncertain bottles being mixed into the main recoverable population.
- Create a physical quarantine area
- Label the reason for quarantine
- Record source, date and bottle family
- Decide who can release, rewash or reject the bottle
- Keep quarantine samples out of the normal clean-bottle stream
Useful infeed information includes crate or pallet presentation, manual or conveyor loading, bottle orientation, expected reject percentage, bottle family range and whether labels are removed before or after sorting. The handling route should suit real returns, not only perfect sample bottles.
- Incoming container method
- Operator sorting position
- Reject bin or recirculation route
- Label-removal order
- Bottle accumulation before washing
- Inspection point after washing