Danone ditches labels for recyclability yield

Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Amcor Rigid Packaging (ARP) says it has worked with consumer products company Danone to launch what it calls a 100-percent-recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle for the Villavicencio water brand in Argentina.

The new label-less bottle is made from 100-percent-recycled content and has a carbon footprint reduced by 21 percent compared with the previous bottle.

“As long-time partners, we are excited to support Danone’s mission to have a positive impact on the environment and our health,” says Juan Cazes, general manager of ARP Argentina. “Over the last two years, we have worked closely to produce a bottle that fully represents the Villavicencio brand, keeping the same visual elements. We used top-quality materials, helping to ensure the safety of the container and the consumer in the process, while we manufacture a bottle that, with the help of the consumer, will become another bottle once recycled.”

Switzerland-based Amcor, which describes itself as a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal-care and other products, says it has committed to making all its packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.

“Partnering with Danone, a global food and beverage company dedicated to inspiring a healthier world through food, was a natural step,” states the firm.

The Villavicencio bottle can be recycled several times over, “helping to support a more circular economy,” says ARP. Much of the brand’s packaging is made from PET, which it calls “easily recycled with mechanical or chemical recycling in most markets, even when that container uses a label.” Removing the label, like in the new Villavicencio design, provides an even greater opportunity to increase yields of recycled PET resin, ARP says.

“As one of our flagship brands in Argentina, Villavicencio upholds the ideals that we are all connected to nature,” says Pablo Colombo, Danone procurement director. “If the environment is healthy, we are too. So, in addition to serving our customers with high-quality products, we must do the same for our planet. The alliance with Amcor has allowed us to take another step in our commitment to sustainability, creating a bottle that, in addition to being 100 percent recyclable, has a lower carbon footprint.”