Alpla-KHS collaboration unveils lightweight refillable PET bottle
19 Mar 2020 --- Alpla Group has developed a 1 L reusable and refillable PET bottle in partnership with bottling and packaging systems company KHS. In a bid to reduce the bottle’s weight – one of the many contributing factors to the plastic pollution crisis – Alpla optimized the bottle’s neck and base designs to bring the total weight down by 10 g. The bottle is produced using a minimal volume of material and turns the theory of “reduce, reuse and recycle” into practical application.
“This bottle is designed as a standard pool bottle for deposit systems for consumers who can return the bottle to the supermarket for the bottle to be filled again,” Alexandra Dittrich, Senior PR and Corporate Communications Expert at Alpla, tells PackagingInsights. Currently, 10 to 30 percent recycled material can be included in the bottle and up to 100 percent is realistic in the long-term, considering the availability of the PET material, Dittrich adds. 
“The main challenge for reusable PET bottles is the circulation rate, as the material has to be adequately alkali-resistant to maintain the quality and the look of the bottle even after multiple washing cycles,” she continues. Even when the bottle is no longer suitable for refillable use, it can be recycled and the material can be turned into new PET bottles.
Positioning itself at the heart of European recycling activities, the packaging manufacturer moved into polyolefin recycling through the acquisition of two companies based in Spain last November. Two of its own PET recycling plants in Austria and Poland and joint ventures in Mexico and Germany produce an annual capacity of 70,000 metric tons. Going forward, Alpla will be “taking the next step” by buying two HDPE (high-density polyethylene) recycling plants.
Cooperation with KHS
KHS production lines stretch, blow and subsequently fill Alpla’s preforms and “ideally adapts” them to the bottling and washing systems, which is viewed as “a major advantage when it comes to production processes,” Alpla affirms. PackagingInsights has previously reported on KHS’s InnoPET Blomax Series V stretch blow molder for the Asahi Soft Drinks’ still water brand, which is touted for its reduced energy costs.
While Alpla continues to scavenge for a customer project, the bottle is ready for market application. “This joint project with KHS demonstrates once again that nothing is standing in the way of anyone who earnestly wishes to identify and realize sustainable solutions,” the company states. “The technological possibilities exist. Nevertheless, the packaging should always be adapted precisely to the product and to the market.”
By Anni Schleicher
