A startup in Berlin has become the first German beverage producer to sell its water in 100 per cent recycled PET bottles.
Share, a “social startup” that provides disadvantaged people with similar products whenever a consumer purchases from them, worked with KHS to design and develop the bottle with the aim of filling a million per month in 2019; this would save 200 tonnes of plastic waste from landfill per year. “It took a long time for the original idea to be implemented,” said Iris Braun, head of Product and Social Projects at Share.
“Finalising the technology and obtaining certification are both lengthy processes. Your partners are thus crucial,” she said.
According to Marc Eysel, who is responsible for sales in Northern Europe at KHS Corpoplast, the manufacturer supported Share in a number of ways including design of the bottle. “We implemented the development quickly and worked on a suitable design together,” he said. “Manufacture is actually simpler as the material’s darker colour makes the preforms easier to heat than PET bottles made of virgin material.”
Eysel says sustainability is important both for KHS and its clients. “A number of bottlers wishing to increase the amount of recycled PET they use have now contacted us,” he said. “The protection of the environment also plays an important role at KHS. We support this by providing resource-saving plant engineering and also by developing sustainable PET bottles.”
