A new lighter weight PET bottle for water

05-Jul-07

A new lighter weight polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for water targets beverage companies that want to cut down on packaging costs. The NoBottle introduced by France-based Sidel weighs 9.9 gm per 500 ml bottle, as against the average weight of a bottle of water of the same capacity that ranges between 13gm to 16 gm. This 25-40% reduction in material will also result in a reduction in less plastic material to be recycled. The bottle is designed to help meet EU environmental regulations, which require countries to cut down on the amount of material they use for packaging their products. The production of this bottle has been possible as a result of a new technology, known as Flex. Flex technology is based on shaping bottles so they remain flexible and are able to spring back to their original shape if crushed. The Flex technology does away with the need to add ribs to brace bottle walls. Such bottles are brittle and noisy when compressed, which reduces shelf appeal. The ribs also limit the possibilities for lightweighting. These bottles are easy to grip, supple, and substantially less brittle than conventional bottles. Their shape memory allows the bottles to better withstand conveying, packing, transport and handling. The bottled water market is the largest segment of the beverage sector by volume, with 160 billion liters sold in 2006. The segment is expected to expand by 5.7% until 2010. The number of units sold on the water market is expected to catch up with soft drinks by 2010 due to the growth of small, single-serve containers of less than 750 ml.