Although 2030 is years away, a new bottle has been developed by Alpla and KHS Group that already meets the 30% recycled content requirement for one-way PET bottles that will kick in that year.
The new 1.0-liter returnable PET bottle from KHS and Alpla is made of up to 35 percent recyclate and is moreover completely recyclable. Its resource-saving design is the next step in KHS’s ongoing efforts to develop sustainable, future-proof plant engineering.
KHS Group manufactures packaging and filling systems for the beverage and liquid food sectors and is considered a technological leader in returnable container systems.
The new bottle was engineered to be extremely light-weight compared to the conventional returnable PET containers in the market, which was achieved by optimizing the bottle base and neck. At 55 grams, the bottle is 10 grams lighter than its standard counterparts and weighs a tenth of comparable glass containers.
“This optimization means that the amount of material used is much lower. At the same time, fuel consumption and thus also CO2 emissions drop during transportation,” said Arne Wiese, Bottles and Shapes product manager at KHS Group.
The PET bottle offers good resistance to caustic materials, which means that its quality and appearance are maintained even after numerous washing cycles, making it suitable for applications with high circulation rates.
KHS is already testing options containing even higher percentages of recycled materials.
“We’ve had outstanding test results with preforms made of up to 35 percent recycled materials; preforms containing 50 percent recyclate are also feasible for some brands,” said Wiese.
The optimized preforms can be blown on all KHS stretch blow molders for returnable containers, including the InnoPET Blomax Series V and the system is suitable for beverages of all types in the returnable container segment.
“We’re convinced that we can place our eco-friendly PET bottle on the market quickly and successfully. Our aim is to implement the market launch in close cooperation with bottling companies,” said Wiese.