Bottle and closure made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic
A bottle and cap solution from Berry Global, both made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, is supporting eco-friendly performance lubricants manufacturer Green Oil in its mission to ‘lubricate the world without polluting it.’
Green Oil produces alternative products that are more environmentally friendly than all-purpose lubricants and penetrating oils, which are traditionally made from petrochemicals. Instead, the company uses sustainably sourced, plant-based ingredients, which are fully biodegradable and free of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a non-biodegradable, carcinogenic chemical which is commonly used in lubricant manufacture.
For its Gardinól house, garden, DIY, office and workshop lubricant brand, Green Oil required a bottle made from 100% PCR plastic. After unsuccessful trials with another supplier, the company turned to Berry, who was able to tailor and supply at low Minimum Order Quantities an existing standard bottle. A particular challenge met by Berry was to ensure the orifice was the correct size for controlled flow of the lubricants.
While the bottle was made using 100% PCR from the start, the polypropylene (PP) closure and applicator nozzle proved more of a challenge as there was initially no reliable stream of PCR PP available. Now, with the introduction of Berry’s proprietary CleanStream™ recycled plastic, the closure is also being produced in PCR.
Equally important, consistent with Green Oil’s brand, it can be recycled at its end of life, in countries where the appropriate recycling infrastructure exists, as the closure is manufactured using a non-carbon black masterbatch. This enables it to be detectable by the Near Infra-Red (NIR) scanners used in waste sorting processes, unlike conventional carbon-black plastic which, in many cases, cannot be detected for recycling.
“With Green Oil products we want to help deliver a cleaner, healthier planet, from soil to rivers to people, so it is important that our packaging also has as little environmental impact as possible,” said Green Oil founder Simon Nash. “Our bottles and closures are now not only made completely from recycled plastic but can also be recycled again.
“Berry has been an ideal partner throughout this development process, providing solutions to all our requirements, and expert advice to all our requests.”
In addition, to further strengthen the bottle’s environmental credentials, it is now being manufactured incorporating Prevented Ocean Plastics (POP), which is plastic waste saved from reaching the ocean and subsequently recycled.
“As well as their sustainability credentials, the bottle and closure are practical and user-friendly,” concluded Simon Nash. “Our partnership with Berry has been great for the environment and great for business.”
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