Danone and Nestlé Waters have partnered with Origin Materials to develop a PET plastic bottle made from 100% renewable and sustainable biomass materials.
As part of this effort, the companies launched a new alliance, named the NaturALL Bottle Alliance, which will focus on developing and launching commercial-scale PET plastic bottle made from bio-based material.
Danone plastic materials R&D head Frederic Jouin said: “Our goal is to establish a circular economy for packaging by sourcing sustainable materials and creating a second life for all plastics.
“By teaming up and bringing together our complementary expertise and resources, the Alliance can move faster in developing 100% renewable and recyclable PET plastic at commercial scale.”
The product uses biomass feedstocks, such as cardboard and sawdust, to produce the light weight, transparent, recyclable and protective PET bottles.
Danone and Nestlé Waters will provide their respective expertise and financial support to help Origin Materials make the available the technology for the entire food and beverage industry.
Origin Materials CEO John Bissell said: “Current technology on the market makes it possible to have 30% bio-PET.
“With the help of our Alliance partners, Origin Materials will be able to scale up a technology which has already been proven at the pilot level.”
The alliance intends to develop the commercial-scale process for producing at least 75% bio-based PET plastic bottles as early as 2020 and significantly increase to 95% in 2022 with final objective of reaching 100%.
Nestlé Waters said that the team initially plans to bring 5,000 tons of bio-based PET to the market.
Image: A Nestlé Waters’ bottle on a table. Photo: courtesy of Nestlé Waters.