The new bottle is made using more than 25% post-consumer 'one-way' recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic but has the same performance characteristics as a refillable bottle made entirely from virgin material.
Nigel Pritchard, group chief executive of Petainer, says: "This is a very exciting development. Refillable bottles are already the beverage packing system with one of the lowest environmental footprints. This massive advance in the use of recycled material makes refillable bottles even more 'eco-nomic'."
Pritchard adds: "They are 'eco-friendly' because they use up to 90% less virgin material per filling. This performance is improved even further by the introduction of post-consumer recyclate which means that the bottles now require less energy and other resources to manufacture."
Petainer is working with bottled water companies, carbonated drinks producers and brewers across Europe to put its new 'greener' refillable bottles into use.
Research commissioned by Petainer has shown that refillable bottles have a lower carbon footprint than one-way bottles that are thrown away after use even if they are recovered for recycling.
Contact: Petainer