first plastic bottle for perrier
august 2001
the move away from the iconic trademark glass bottle, which for almost 100
years has set the design standard in mineral water packaging, is being
launched across europe.
conceived in france by packaging specialist dragon rouge, the custom-made
PET (polyethylene terephthalate) container uses two layers of plastic with a
layer of nylon in between. weighing approximately 36 grams, the PET bottles
are two-stage injection stretch blow-moulded.
the company set up a PET production line, at a cost of 6,8 million euros,
to enable the launch of a 50cl format that is particularly suited to the
out-of-home circuit, in particular the on the go market.
PET did pose a challenge for the brand.
it took 11 years of research to find a material that would retain the flavour
and handle the estimated 50 million bubbles (who counts them?) in each bottle;
the addition of nylon has so far proved 'bubble proof'.
pressure on perrier to re-think its glass has come both from retailers,
who say it is heavy to lift and dangerous if broken, and from young consumers,
who prefer the convenience of plastic.
it is a move that is being compared with toothpaste switching from metal to
plastic tubes.
first steps to simplify recycling
container makers can make reprocessing easier by limiting the number of container
types and shapes, using only one type of plastic resin in each container,
making collapsible containers, using water-dispersible adhesives for labels,
and phasing out metals, such as aluminum seals.
plastic resin manufacturers can limit the variety of resins within each numbered
type of plastic, avoid using pigments, and formulate resins to better withstand
post-consumer processing.
both container and plastic resin makers can help develop reprocessing if encouraged
to use plastic that is discarded by consumers.
bottle to bottle policy
the grass roots recycling network's (GRRN) aim is to pressure corporations to take
responsibility for the environmental impacts of its manufacturing processes,
materials and resource-use and to urge them to invest in reduction,
reuse and recycling practices.
in 1990, amidst the heat of the cola battles with pepsi, coca cola loudly announced
their pledge to help create a market for #1 PET bottles.
coke officials promised to begin using recycled plastic in #1 PET bottles.
it was great news that the largest beverage company in the world was going to set
a precedent and show sound corporate leadership.
eleven years later, coca-cola has still not followed through on its promise.
the failed promise has been a major factor in the collapse of the soda bottle
recycling market.
if the major soft drink and water companies were to use 25 percent recycled content
in their PET soda bottles, the container recycling Institute estimates that they could
boost the PET soda bottle recycling rate from 36 percent to 61 percent.
what would it cost the soda bottle industry to use 25 percent recycled plastic
in their bottles? one beverage industry publication reported that soft drink bottlers
were making a profit of more than 21 cents per bottle.
adding 25 percent post-consumer recycled content would cost only one-tenth of
a penny per bottle. profits would still be 20.9 cents per bottle!
for the latest info
the international bottled water association http://www.bottledwater.org
the world wildlife fund http://www.panda.org
the container recycling institute (CRI) http://cri.earthsystems.org
coke publicly announced plans last month to use 10 percent recycled content in
every PET bottle by 2005
The GrassRootsRecycling Network (GRRN)
http://www.grrn.org/cgi-bin/reframe/reframe.cgi?http%3A//www.grrn.org/resolutions/sfcr.htm
back to PET bottle article
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