Evian, the France-based bottled water company, announced that it will make all its water bottles from 100 percent recycled plastic. It also announced plans to use all materials in a closed loop by 2025, effectively becoming “circular” and not contributing to buildup of plastic waste.
The company partnered with a Canadian startup called Loop Industries to develop a new plastic recycling technology that depolymerizes old plastic bottles to form a material very similar to that which makes brand new bottles. Such a process makes recycling bottles significantly easier and requires no oil or gas to do it.
Plastic bottles contain six to seven percent recycled plastic on average, and Evian’s bottles are currently comprised of about 25 percent recycled material.
Fast Company has more information:
One million plastic bottles are sold around the world each minute. Most are used for bottled water, and most end up in the trash. As demand for bottled water grows–particularly in China–so does the bottle problem. By 2021, humans will use an estimated half a trillion bottles plastic bottles a year.
Evian, the France-based mineral water brand, is part of the problem, though now it’s also working on a plan to address the challenge–but keep selling bottled water–through a new approach: By 2025, the company plans to become “circular,” using materials in a closed loop. It will work to increase dismal consumer recycling rates, and partner with a nonprofit that works on collecting ocean plastic. In a move that will likely have a more direct impact, all Evian bottles will also be made from 100% recycled plastic. On average, other bottled water companies use only around 6% to 7% recycled plastic today.