Mattoni 1873 to launch a second wave of PET bottle color unification to facilitate recycling, switching to transparent plastic with four brands.
Aquila, Hanácká kyselka, Dobrá voda a Poděbradka will gradually, over the coming months, switch to clear (uncolored) PET bottles. Even though this change might surprise the customer, the company’s move is in compliance with the current separated waste legislation. At the same time, they hope that a nationwide deposit system will be launched in the future, enabling “bottle to bottle” recycling, while maintaining the low number of PET colors on the market, making full use of the valuable commodity that used PET bottles are.
Mattoni 1873 have started the color unification process in 2019. The formerly diverse lineup of colors has been seeing gradual discontinuation, with currently prevailing shades of blue, green, as well as clear bottles. The brands presently joining the group using clear PET are Aquila, Dobrá voda, Poděbradka a Hanácká kyselka.
„A key objective for us is the ability to close the PET circular loop in the Czech Republic, to be able to repeatedly and as many times as possible use the locally available commodity. That requires efficient collection of used bottles – a nationwide deposit system – as well as fully recyclable bottles – i.e. a limited number of bottle colors. We trust that consumers will accept the color change, and appreciate the positive environmental impact of the move,“ says Andrea Brožová, Mattoni 1873 spokeswoman.
How does the reduced number of colors facilitate PET bottle recycling?
Used PET bottles are currently sorted by color at sorting lines and thus separated are sent for further processing. The most widely used PET bottle colors are clear, blue and green. From a recycling standpoint, it is therefore desirable for beverage manufacturers to opt for the colors mentioned above. From a short term perspective, this will lead to more efficient processing and subsequent use of separated bottles, from a long term perspective, recycling back into same colored bottles will be facilitated. Recycling – together with the PET bottles’ ecodesign (color unification) and sufficiently efficient used bottle collection, which only a deposit system can demonstrably provide – will close the PET material loop in the Czech Republic, drastically reducing the influx of virgin PET on the market.