Henkel announced in a press release that moving forward, Perwoll bottles in Western Europe will not only be fully recyclable, but also contain 25 percent recycled PE (polyethylene) from post-consumer sources as standard.
“With the introduction of bottles made of 25 percent recycled plastic for the Perwoll brand, we converted our largest Laundry & Home Care category utilizing PE bottles to use recycled plastic,” says Vineet Varman, Head of International Packaging Development for Special Detergents at Henkel, in the company press release.
Henkel’s packaging and supply chain team was able to integrate a significant share of recycled PE in the full range of Perwoll bottles in the Western European market – while at the same time retaining their color, without making any compromises on the performance or fragrance of the premium product.
“This is a great achievement – and a starting point to move further: We are already working on expanding the usage this recycled material also in other categories,” said Varman in the release. “While availability of high-quality recycled PE material from post-consumer waste is still limited, we are proud that we, together with our partners, successfully developed a recycling stream for it.”
“The use of recycling material makes this bottle a particularly sustainable, CO2-saving packaging solution – also because we have been manufacturing the bottles in-house, which reduces transportation and repackaging to zero. We appreciate working with customers like Henkel, who challenge us and contribute to the functioning of a circular economy,” said Nicolas Lehner, CCO ALPLA Group, in the Henkel release.
Black Bottle – Fully Recyclable, Plus Recycled Plastic
For the black bottle of Perwoll’s “Renew & Repair” variant, Henkel announces an additional milestone: In line with its commitment to introduce recyclable black packaging, the company has already started converting its black Perwoll bottles to a new packaging material which uses an alternative carbon-free color, through which bottles become recyclable and thus can be integrated back into the value chain. Now, these black bottles are not only recyclable but also contain 25 percent recycled PE.
Circular Economy Initiatives
The introduction of bottles with 25 percent recycled plastic for its full Perwoll range in Western Europe is another example of Henkel’s activities and progress in the field of plastic packaging. The company pursues packaging targets, is engaged in various partnerships along the entire value chain, and participates in cross-industry initiatives. For example, the company is a member of the global Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) and the New Plastics Economy (NPEC), and a partner of social enterprise, Plastic Bank.
