The Awards are organised and hosted by the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) and Inside Waste magazine.
Australian Beverages Group Managing Director Peter West said the finalist position recognised the world-leading performance of the company’s technical team, based in Sydney, NSW.
“Our switch to 100 per cent recycled materials for carbonated beverages is an Australian first, and possibly a world first,” Mr West said.
“Conventional wisdom was that 100 percent recycled materials were not durable enough to hold fully carbonated beverages. Our technical team proved that wrong by designing a 100 percent recycled PET bottle that can withstand 100psi, the pressure inside a carbonated bottle. (1)
“As a result we’re the first in Australia to make 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles for carbonated beverages, which is a major sustainability breakthrough.
“The award winners are yet to be announced, but our technical team are already sustainability winners in our eyes, for delivering this bottling breakthrough.” Mr West said Amatil was on track to convert 7 out of 10 of its plastic bottles in Australia to the new fully recycled materials by the end of 2019.
The switch to additional recycled materials reduces Amatil’s virgin plastic use by around 10,000 tonnes a year. Amatil has also ceased distribution of plastic straws and is the governmentappointed scheme co-ordinator for all Australian state- and territory-based container deposit scheme – NSW, Qld, SA, WA, NT and ACT.
The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Awards are independently adjudicated. A total of 88 nominations were received for this year’s awards, across ten categories.
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(1) Approximate value Exact pressure dependent on a range of factors (including temperature).
