A Recycling 'First' for Food Containers

The Bottle Box is a new clamshell food container made of 100% post-consumer PET beverage bottles. What’s said to be an industry first is that all the steps—from washing to grinding, extrusion, and thermoforming—are performed under one roof. This achievement resulted from a collaboration between Direct Pack Inc., a Sun Valley, Calif., designer and thermoformer of food packaging, and Global PET of Perris, Calif. The effort was supported by a $7-million grant to Global PET from the state of California.

    Global PET handles all phases of production. It started in 1994 as a PET recycler

serving sheet extruders, but it recently installed its own extrusion and thermoforming

equipment. Global PET sources bottles through Plastics Recycling Corp. of California (PRCC) in Sonoma. Under a 10-yr agreement, PRCC will provide Global PET with 60 million lb of recycled PET bottles/yr.

    Direct Pack contributes its expertise in package design and distribution. The Bottle Box is said to use 21% less material than comparable containers. Applications include take-out foods, salads, snacks, and deli items not heated beyond 165 F.

    In related news, PWP Industries, Vernon, Calif., recently opened an 80,000-sq-ft facility in Davisville, W. Va., where it extrudes and thermoforms post-consumer PET flake into food containers. The flake is supplied mainly by Coca-Cola Recycling LLC of Atlanta. And Earthbound Farm, San Juan Bautista, Calif., recently switched all its fresh-cut salads to thermoformed clamshells of 100% post-consumer PET. Its clamshells are made by Packaging Plus LLC, based in La Mirada, Calif.

(818) 686-2522 • thebottlebox.com (304) 422-9443 • pwpindustries.com (714) 522-5400 • packagingplusllc.com