NZ Drinks has upgraded a recycled plastic water bottle production line at its Waikato plant in New Zealand to increase manufacturing capacity.
This move follows the company’s initial introduction of recycled plastic into select product ranges two years ago.
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The new line will allow NZ Drinks to continue to expand production of bottled water in recycled packaging, producing an estimated 220 million bottles made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) plastic per year.
NZ Drinks purchases recycled bottles from Visy Plastics in Albany, reported stuff.co.nz. The new upgrade will allow the company to develop plastic bottles in-house by purchasing pre-formed plastic tubes.
NZ Drinks director Kyle Osborne was quoted by media sources as saying: “As New Zealand’s largest bottled water producer we felt it was our responsibility to introduce the latest raw material and manufacturing technology as an important step towards creating a more sustainable industry.
“In theory, there is no limit to the number of times the plastic from a bottle of water can be recycled into new products. What we are missing in New Zealand is the infrastructure necessary to achieve this.”
The company has deployed technology for the project from Krones, a packaging and bottle manufacturer based in Germany.
The new line will allow the company to improve efficiency by reducing the weight of rPet used per bottle.
