Highland Spring trials 100 percent recycled eco bottle in UK first

14 Jun 2018 --- One of the UK’s leading natural source water brands, Highland Springs, will begin trialing a new eco bottle which is both recyclable and made from 100 percent recycled material. The project aims to “keep plastic in the circular economy and out of the oceans.” In a first for the UK Bottled Water category, the trial starts this month with the launch of a 500ml Highland Spring eco bottle in selected Tesco stores in Scotland.

This will be followed by a trial launch in Sainsbury’s stores in England. The eco-bottle will also be available at the Fever-Tree Tennis Championships at Queen’s Club.

The eco bottle label will feature a burst of green color and a “100 percent recycled” plastic bottle message to differentiate it from other plastic bottles. Shoppers will be invited to give feedback on the launch online or in-store.

“The label states a URL (www.highlandspring.com/eco-bottle) that will take people to our website so they can answer a short feedback questionnaire and in-store via interviews that we’ll be conducting on site,” a Highland Spring’s spokesperson tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “Thoughts, views and opinions are also welcome on social media. The more feedback the better.”

“A successful trial is good news for the whole industry and a significant step in a long-term roadmap to eliminating plastic waste in the soft drinks sector,” they add. “While it’s too early to predict the results of the trial, we do know that a packaging change such as this can’t happen overnight because there is work to be done to source recycled plastic in the quantities and quality we need. It is our ambition to use at least 50 percent recycled plastic in our bottles by 2022.”

“If the trial is successful, and we can source recycled plastic in the quantities and quality we need, there is potential for the eco bottle to become a permanent fixture in the Highland Spring range,” they conclude.

The eco bottle is made from rPET sourced from a number of different countries, including the UK, to ensure both the availability and quality of the material can be managed. For the trial-run eco bottle, the material was sourced from Continental Europe.

Highland Spring Chief Executive, Les Montgomery, says: “Our commitment to the environment starts with the UK’s leading brand, Highland Spring. That’s why we’ve announced the trial of a first-in-category eco bottle made from 100 percent recycled plastic that’s 100 percent recyclable too.”

“Plastic is a valuable resource that shouldn’t be treated as waste and we encourage everyone to get involved in this trial. Tell us what you think of the eco bottle and then recycle it afterward to help keep the circle of recycled plastics going.”

“This is a significant step that is part of a longer-term roadmap to eliminating plastic waste as more and more consumers recycle their plastic bottles and we can source recycled plastic in the quantities and quality we need,” he adds.

Highland Spring Group, the UK’s leading producer of natural-source bottled water, remains the number one UK supplier with volumes of 552 million liters annually.

By Joshua Poole