Loop equips Danone’s evian with 100% rPET bottles for 2022 South Korean rollout

22 Sep 2021 --- Danone’s mineral water brand evian is launching a recycled PET (rPET) prototype bottle in collaboration with clean technology company Loop Industries. 

“We plan to roll out bottles at commercial scale in South Korea in 2022, with the goal of launching in other markets in the future,” an evian spokesperson tells PackagingInsights. 

Loop’s recycling technology enables a continuous loop for large-scale recycling, meaning it can process all types of PET waste into high-quality plastic bottles. This includes discarded polyester fibers and textiles found in gym bags, flip flops and carpets, as well as ocean-retrieved, colored and opaque plastics.

The move aids evian in achieving its 2025 goal of transitioning to 100% recycled plastic in all its plastic bottles, excluding the cap and label.

Eye on South Korea
South Korea is also a key market for Loop. “[This is] particularly following our recently announced partnership with SK Geo Centric to accelerate the commercialization of our technology across Asia,” a Loop representative shares with PackagingInsights. 

Loop Industries’ technology allows low-value plastics to be recycled endlessly into new, virgin-quality plastic.In June, SK Global Chemical purchased 4.71 million shares of common stock in Loop Industries, amounting to a 10% stake in the company. 

At the time, Loop Industries revealed its intentions to form a joint venture with SK Geo Centric next year with the exclusive right to commercialize Loop’s PET and polyester fiber manufacturing technology throughout Asia. 

The two companies plan to begin constructing a production facility that can annually recycle 84,000 metric tons of waste PET in 2023, then accelerate to process a total of 400,000 metric tons of waste PET per year by building four production facilities in Asia by 2030.

Plans to build PET manufacturing facilities in Canada, where Loop is based, and Europe in the next year are also underway.

An infinite cycle
Loop Industries has planned facilities in North America, Asia and Europe.Loop Industries’ technology allows otherwise wasted and low-value PET and polyester fiber waste to be recycled endlessly into new, virgin-quality PET. 

“This process can be repeated infinitely with no degradation in the quality of the PET,” says the Loop representative.

“Since the technology works using low heat and no added pressure, it allows us to isolate contaminants, impurities and additives found in PET and polyester fiber waste, and remove them from the process, leaving the monomers to be purified and then put back together into virgin-quality PET,” they share.

The innovative technology allows more plastic to be kept in use, reduces reliance on fossil fuels and avoids the creation of new plastic.

Reimagining plastics
Repurposing plastic materials otherwise destined for landfills is experiencing an innovation surge. For example, The Lego Group created a prototype toy Lego brick made from discarded PET bottles in June, while bio-industrial company Carbios partnered with Michelin to produce car tires from waste PET bottles a month earlier. 

By Anni Schleicher