When a plastic bottle ends up in a recycling plant, the label attached to it usually isn’t recycled. This is because the labels are made from a different type of plastic than the PET used in bottles. And while they’re technically recyclable, most recycling facilities don’t have the adequate infrastructure to process them, so they find their way in landfills or getting burned.
That’s why, Danone’s mineral water brand Evian has designed a circular packaging solution in the form of a new bottle that eliminates the label entirely, with the brand name and other details carved into the bottle itself.
Evian’s goal is to have all of its bottles made from 100% recycled plastic by 2025, as part of its broader sustainability strategy to become fully circular by then. Ultimately, it wants every bottle it makes to end up back in the recycling system in a closed-loop.
The new bottle is made from 100% recycled and it features a logo engraved at the stage when the plastic is formed into the shape of the bottle inside a mold.
Evian will distribute the label-free bottle in select hotels, restaurants, and hospitality venues, and the brand says it’s a sustainable solution for e-commerce, where there’s no need for barcode labeling.
While this initiative is definitely noteworthy, recycling is only a mopping solution to our plastic crisis. The best thing you can do is to avoid buying plastic bottles completely!
