Mineral water brand Evian (Évian-les-Bains / France; www.evian.com) has announced it will cease using virgin plastics in the manufacture of its plastic water bottles by 2025. The group said all of its containers will be made from 100% recycled plastic material by this time. An Evian spokeswoman told Plasteurope.com that the company produces approximately 1.8 bn bottles annually at its site in Évian-les-Bains.

Owned by French multinational group Danone (Paris; www.danone.com), Evian said it will work with environmental charity the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF, Cowes / UK; www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.com) to plan how it will make the switch from virgin to recycled material. Founded by yachtswoman Ellen MacArthur, the foundation has voiced concerns at the rising levels of plastic waste in the world’s oceans. Last year, it also called for the banning of oxo-biodegradable plastics until such material can be proved not to be a hazard to the environment when it breaks down into microscopic particles (see Plasteurope.com of 13.11.17).

Evian said it aims to achieve the move to using 100% recycled plastics through what it called “pioneering partnerships to redesign its packaging, accelerate recycling initiatives and recover plastic waste from nature.” The group said its water bottles are already designed to be 100% recyclable and contain an average 25% recycled plastic (rPET). Along with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Evian said it would be working with a number of companies including Canadian sustainability firm Loop Industries (Terrebonne, Québec; www.loopindustries.com), which it said has developed the technology for a continuous loop for large-scale recycling of PET plastic waste.

Patricia Oliva, Evian’s global brand director, said the group’s commitment to using 100% recycled plastic was a “step-change to address the critical issue of plastic. We want to use the power of our global brand to take a leadership position, drive collaboration across the industry and, together with partners, transform our approach to plastic. We’re committed to move the mindset of today’s generation from ‘we can’ to ‘we do’.”

In September 2017 Danone unveiled a new state-of-the-art water bottle production facility in Évian-les-Bains. It is part of the food giant's EUR 280m decade-long investment programme.