Packaging and recycling specialist Alpla is partnering with German startup Sea Me to produce reusable PET bottles for cosmetic applications.
Sea Me has created a reusable packaging system for cosmetic applications called zerooo. Together, Sea Me and Alpla developed a fully recyclable PET bottle solution at Alpla’s STUDIOa design centre in Hard, Austria.
Starting in September, reusable 300-millilitre PET bottles will be available in the German market for shampoo, shower gel, detergent, body lotion, and dental care applications. The solution will also be available in Austria from October.
The bottles are available in clear, milk white, and brown versions. They are suitable for all caps and are compatible with all automatic return systems. Empty bottles can be returned at approximately one thousand collection points of zerooo retail partners for a deposit of €0.50.
The reusable PET bottles include a unique laser-engraved 2D matrix code with information about the content and circulation history of the bottle. These types of codes can aid reuse and recycling by including information that explains how and where to reuse the item, or how to prepare it for recycling. They also allow brands to provide updatable information in different languages and to record data on the circularity journey of the packaging.
“The digital labelling enables transparency and ensures the quality of the bottles,” said Jörg Schwärzler, senior technology manager at Alpla. “By combining it with the information from the label, it can also be complemented with further product data,” he added.
The individual serialisation of bottles has been integrated into the production process, a first for Sea Me.
“This innovation enables groundbreaking data applications for packaging in the context of reuse,” said Mirko Waraszik, director of supply chain and co-founder of zerooo at Sea Me.
The first German brands to use the reusable system include Sea Me’s own brand, i+m Naturkosmetik, Speick, Denttabs, 4 people who care, and Aveo from Müller.
Last year, Alpla collaborated with Privatbrunnen Tönissteiner, a mineral water company based in Germany, to develop a reusable PET bottle made entirely of recycled material.
Source: sustainableplastics.com
