France – Carbios global consortium consisting of Nestlé, L’Oréal, Suntory Beverage & Food Europe and PepsiCo has unveiled water bottles based on a novel recycling technology.
The Perrier water bottles were produced as part of the Carbios global consortium to support the industrialization of an innovative technology that allows plastic to be endlessly recycled while maintaining properties that are virtually equivalent to virgin plastics.
First Perrier from recycled PET materials
Experts at Nestlé’s Waters research and development department in Vittel, France, used this new method to create the first Perrier 50cl prototype bottles made from colorful recycled PET materials. Safety, quality, and performance of the prototypes were rigorously examined. They were also carefully designed to resist the pressure of carbonated water while retaining the famous Perrier bottle design and green hue.
While recycled PET bottles already exist in the marketplace, this new technology when developed at industrial scale, will help increase the amount of PET plastic that can be recycled.
Using enzymes to break down PET plastic
The Carbios method breaks down PET plastic into its constituent elements, which may then be transformed back into new, virgin-grade similar plastic using enzymes from naturally occurring microorganisms. The revolutionary technique is also one-of-a-kind in that it allows for the creation of recycled PET from any type of PET plastic, regardless of color or complexity. This enables the recycling of more varieties of PET plastic that would otherwise go to waste or be burnt, resulting in an infinite, fully closed loop for plastic recycling.
