Origin Materials, a technology company, has unveiled the engineering and design in its tethered polyethylene terephthalate (PET) cap.  

The patent-pending design uses the threads of the PET cap and bottle to secure the cap at an angle away from the mouth, ensuring user-friendliness. 

The newly developed PET caps are recyclable, lightweight, and capable of incorporating recycled PET (rPET), promoting monomaterial packaging solutions.  

Origin's tethered PET cap is an addition to its previously launched PET closure, which is the lightest carbonated soft drink cap compatible with the PCO 1881 neck finish. 

It is the first to be produced on a commercial scale, according to the company. 

Origin Materials has made it possible for its PET caps to be produced using various types of PET plastic, including virgin PET, rPET, or biobased PET.  

The company's PCO 1881-compatible caps are expected to hit the market in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2024, with the tethered variants to be released subsequently. 

Origin co-founder and co-CEO John Bissell said: "In conjunction with world-class partners, we are solving the most difficult sustainability challenges.

"With our leading PET cap technology and manufacturing systems, we are extremely well-positioned to address a $65bn caps and closures market that consumes billions upon billions of caps per year which today cannot be recycled into new caps, only downcycled." 

In May this year, Origin Materials announced a strategic partnership with Bachmann for the mass production of PET caps and closures.