PETpla.net Insider 12 / 2018

9 NEWS PET planet Insider Vol. 19 No. 12/18 www.petpla.net Global premium water growing 8% a year Global sales of premium bottled water reached US$ 16.5 billion at consumer prices in 2017, 48% more than five years ago, according to a new report from Zenith Global. Consumption volume also rose strongly by 26% over the five years to 11.2 billion litres. Zenith Global Chairman Richard Hall states “The most popular premium waters are high quality, differentiated and inspirational brands, often with distinc- tive, natural heritage.” The overall bottled water market, including flavoured and functional waters, has been growing strongly in recent years. The main drivers have been healthy hydration, convenience, affordability and reliability. Premium water perceptions can be subjective and may differ from one market to another. Zenith Global uses a combination of criteria including price, design, distribution, target audience, brand story, provenance, purity, water type and purchase frequency. Consumers may value provenance over purity in one country and the opposite in another. The 2018 Zenith Global Premium Water Report highlights the domi- nance of Europe in both volume and value, as well as exploring the devel- opment of emerging markets, with a deep-dive into five key countries: China, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. It also assesses the relative importance of still or sparkling, along with water provenance and health claims. The report concludes with estimates for the segment’s future outlook. Full details of the 2018 Zenith Global Premium Bottled Water Report are available online. www.zenithglobal.com Recycling Technologies returns to crowd- funding to launch its recycling machine Recycling Technologies opened its second campaign to raise a mini- mum of £ 1.3m with Crowdcube as it seeks to build and open its first commercial plant in Scotland. This follows its successful debut Crowd- cube funding round in February this year which closed at £ 3.7m, well ahead of its scheduled completion date. Recycling Technologies has developed and patented a plastics recy- cling machine, the RT7000, that is claimed to turn plastic waste back into oil called Plaxx from which new plastics can be made. The machine heats up the plastic in the absence of oxygen to break the waste plastic down into Plaxx. This process allows the RT7000 to recycle also plastics commonly considered unrecyclable such as plastic film, and laminated plastics such as food pouches. Furthermore, the RT7000s are modu- lar allowing them to be transported and installed within existing waste management facilities where the majority of the residual plastic waste already arises. The company is now about to embark on the commercial manufactur- ing of the RT7000. This starts the next stage of its business, to develop its first full scale RT7000 and then assemble and deliver an initial fleet of twelve RT7000s to meet the anticipated demand for urgently-needed plastics recycling capacity. After the initial build of the company’s fleet, Recycling Technologies plan to grow the sales of RT7000s and drive further expansion into the UK, and global export markets. The aim is to install capacity to recycle 10 million tonnes of plastic by 2027, produc- ing 7 million tonnes of Plaxx annually to replace fossil oils. This target will more than triple Europe’s current waste plastic recycling capacity. www.recyclingtechnologies.co.uk Tomra strengthens set-ups in China Tomra, a global leader in sensor-based sorting technology, is committed to its long-term develop- ment in China and has further strengthened its set-up in this fast-growing market. Since estab- lishing the first subsidiary in China in 2010, Tomra has been actively increasing its investment and business activities in this dynamic market. Cur- rently Tomra has three businesses operating in China: recycling sorting, food sorting and grading as well as beverage container collection. Tomra’s business activity in China ranges from business development, product management, R&D, assem- bly, sales, service and application validation in the local test centers. After expanding Tomra’s fresh fruit and veg- etable grading manufacturing site in Kunshan, Tomra further reinforced its engineering team in China and expanded its technology center in Xiamen. With the “Made in China 2025” strategy, blueprinted by the nation’s top decision makers, there has been a national consensus that China should make a transition to sustainable develop- ment. In the coming years, priority will be given to innovation, manufacturing quality, environmental protection and structural change in the economy. Tomra’s vision of building a circular economy and a sustainable future with the aid of cutting- edge technology resonates with China’s top-level strategy. To prepare for the new opportunities created by China’s transformation, Tomra has been strengthening its organisational base in this vibrant country. Envisioning Tomra’s contribution in China’s shift to sustainable development, Jacob Rognhaug, general manager at Tomra China, says, “During China’s transformative development, more innova- tive technologies are needed to address the chal- lenges of efficient use of resources, environmental protection and the provision of high-quality food. At Tomra, we are dedicated to optimising resource productivity with sensor-based technology, and our solutions can answer some of the main chal- lenges that China is facing today. That’s why we have been increasing our financial investment in China while also investing a considerable amount of time in achieving a better understanding of the local market. I’m confident our technology can contribute significantly to China’s goal of sustain- able development.” www.tomra.com