Zero-carbon plastic precursor manufacturer company Origin Materials Inc. has developed what it says is the first sustainable and fully recyclable plastic bottle cap for plastic bottles.
West Sacramento-based Origin (Nasdaq: ORGN) is working with Swiss company PackSys Global AG to make the caps and commercial manufacturing machines at commercial scale as European rules will require mandatory cap-tethering this summer.
“Our high-throughput production system is the first of its kind, designed to do something nothing else can: make PET caps and closures at commercial scale,” said John Bissell, Origin co-CEO and co-founder, in a news release.
Most beverage bottles are made from fully recyclable PET plastic, while most plastic bottle caps are made from softer HDPE plastic, which breaks down with recycling.
“PET closures can be a game changer for closure recycling. Most beverage closures are today made from HDPE and, while closure recycling rates are increasing, especially in Europe where closure tethering will be mandatory starting July 2024, a beverage container remains a two-material solution,” said Ueli Kobel, director of PackSys Global’s Slitting Division, in a news release.
By using PET plastic in the cap, along with the tethering ring, the entire bottle and enclosure can be easily recycled. The manufacture of the new caps requires a slitting machine to notch the enclosure and its retaining ring on the bottle so that the bottle can be opened, but the components remain tethered to each other.
“Our system will allow us to bring the recycling, sustainability and performance benefits of our PET cap and closure solution to the world," Bissell said. “We expect it will be the first of many such production lines for making not just beverage packaging better and fully recyclable, but containers of nearly every kind."
Bissell said that PackSys Global is a respected leader in packaging machines for the cosmetics, beverage, pharmaceutical and packaging industries with facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.
Origin’s mission is to make plastic precursor chemicals using scrap wood or other organic products as a replacement for petroleum in plastic manufacture. The end products can be anything from containers and fabrics to tires and industrial products.
The company early last year opened its first manufacturing plant in Sarnia, Ontario. It began production in October using corn starch as a feed stock. In April, it announced it succeeded in converting its plant in Canada to use wood residue as a feedstock to make zero-carbon plastic. The wood residue is more of a challenge to work with because it doesn’t start in a uniform size.
Origin's product is a drop-in replacement for petroleum in the manufacture of PET plastic, which is the most recycled plastic on the planet.
Origin has backing from Mitsubishi Group, Nestle SA, Danone SA and PepsiCo Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP), all of which are potential customers for Origin’s zero-carbon PET for industrial goods and packaging.
