PETpla.net Insider 09 / 2020

BOTTLE MAKING 40 PETplanet Insider Vol. 21 No. 09/20 www.petpla.net Integrated design for ergonomics and cleanliness Unique handle for 5 gallon PET bottles Health concerns over BPA (bisphenol A) found in polycar- bonate (PC), have resulted in a tendency to shift from PC to PET for 5-gallon returnable water cooler bottles. The main challenge for PET in this application has been the lack of secure and ergonomic handles to lift and carry the heavy bottles. Cypet Technologies has just unveiled its unique solution for a 5-gallon water cooler PET bottle with an inte- grated handle, solving the problem of having secure as well as ergonomic handles for PET bottles for this application. PC bottles can be extrusion blow moulded with a secure handle on the side. Although convenient for carry- ing the bottles, such extrusion blow moulded handles are hollow inside, and are therefore difficult to clean properly, which may lead to contami- nation and unhygienic water. Addition- ally, such handles make it difficult to lift up bottles from the floor, because one has to bend low to catch the han- dles, putting strain on the back. PET bottles are produced by stretch-blow-moulding, a process that cannot produce bottles with integrated handles. To solve this problem, a separately moulded handle needs to be assembled on the bottle, adding costs and recycling difficulties, as such a handle is usually moulded from a different material. A new solution developed by Cypet Technologies for a 5-gallon water cooler PET bottle features an integrated handle and claims to solve the problem of having secure as well as ergonomic handles for PET bottles. When developing the unique han- dles, Cypet’s design and development team focused in meeting the following criteria:  Hygienic – the handle does not interfere with the cleaning of the bottle inside.  Ergonomic – a slight bending of the knees is enough to reach the handle and lift the bottle, without straining the back.  Sustainable – easily recyclable, as the whole bottle with handle is made from PET that can be recy- cled back to food contact suitable material, for multiple re-use in a fully circular economy.  No risk of detaching – fully inte- grated handle and mechanically very strong. Cypet states that its single-stage patented injection-stretch-blow- moulding machines are the only ones currently capable of produc- ing the specially designed handles. The 5-gallon bottles with the unique integrated handles can be produced on three different of their machine model range, depending on the output required. Machines with 1, 2 or 4 cavity production capabilities are offered, with the 4-cavity system being the most productive on the market for this application. In the table below Cypet sum- marises the characteristics of the different types of 5-gallon bottles with handles. www.cypet.eu 5-gallon bottle handle comparison (source: Cypet) PC handle PET Side handle PET neck handle Cypet handle BPA health risk yes no no no Hygiene difficult to clean good good good Handle ergonomics back strain back strain good good Risk if handle detaching no yes low no Recyclability good requires material seperation requires material seperation excellent Interference with cooler no no possible no Handle cost high high medium low Easy to carry: 5 gallon PET bottle with intergrated handle Fixing the gallon on the station