Drinks manufacturer Perrier (Vergèze / France; www.perrier.com) will support the projects of three start-ups it has selected through its innovation programme “The Next Packaging Movement”. Perrier unveiled the winners during a presentation at the 2020 “ChangeNOW” summit held in Paris / France in January.

The mineral water company’s sustainable innovation programme supports packaging that goes beyond being 100% recycled and recyclable. Each of the winning projects receives up to EUR 1m and addresses different aspects of the packaging value chain, ranging from source materials to alternative solutions beyond the packaging’s end-of-life, said Perrier. The company is working with the selected start-ups to introduce their packaging by 2025. Perrier received approximately 90 submissions since the call for applications in April 2019.

Achmad Solikhin, a student at Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia interested in making biodegradable plastics from waste, invented “Biotic”, a bio-based and biodegradable plastic product made out of recyclate, agricultural waste and nanofillers such as lignocelluloses. Biotic can be used for packaging and in industries such as pharmaceutical, electronics, automotive and furniture, with the plastics in Biotic said to biodegrade within three months. The Biotic project is expected to create well-paying jobs for women in Africa, where the project is based, said Perrier.

France-based barrel maker Flexikeg (www.flexikeg.com) is in collaboration with Perrier to deliver beverages in a unique reusable flexible keg package design. This innovation aims to reduce plastics waste and carbon dioxide emissions during manufacturing.

Start-up company PlastiSkul was selected for its innovation which creates micro-factories that can handle the collection or transformation of waste. The micro-factory is designed for implementation in developing countries, where local entrepreneurs are provided with education and training.