Sonoco to produce plant-based plastic bottle

Sonoco, a packaging company headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina, has begun producing the plant-based plastic bottles for a new home care line marketed by Ecover.

“As a leader in the green cleaning space, Ecover sought a packaging partner who could collaborate on sustainable packaging solutions and meet an aggressive commercialization timeline,” says Andrew Moreno, Ecover’s North America’s procurement director. "We also required responsive service and a near-site manufacturing facility to minimize lead times and environmental impact. Sonoco has the ability to provide all of this and perfectly meet our needs. We feel this new line of packaging will help Ecover reach more consumers while continuing to be deeply rooted in nature-based science.”

Ecover’s new packaging line first appeared on store shelves in August 2014 in Sonoco's extrusion blow-molded bottles made from Plantplastic, Ecover's blend of bio-sourced high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and post-consumer recycled (PCR) resin. The bio-resin, which is produced using plant-based feedstock and recycled resin collected from municipal curbside programs, uses up to 90 percent less energy and emits 75 percent fewer greenhouse gases compared to petroleum-based virgin resin, and is recyclable in most curbside recycling programs, the company says.

“Sonoco is proud to partner with Ecover to become the brand's HDPE bottle provider in North America, collaborating to produce a fresh new line of bottles,” says Jeff DiPasquale, vice president, Sonoco Blow Molding. “Our material and technical expertise, responsiveness, and customer focus created a perfect match between Sonoco and Ecover.”

Ecover has manufacturing facilities in Belgium and France. The company also is opening a manufacturing facility in Chicago that it says is expected to be a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum-certified facility.