The sustainable and reusable Eco Ello Bottle made from Eastman’s Tritan Renew is available at Target stores and online.

PlasticsToday Staff

June 17, 2021

2 Min Read
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Eastman

Some 70% of plastic water bottles that aren’t currently recycled end up as waste in landfills or as litter. However, turnabout is fair play and highly sustainable: Advanced Circular Recycling, aka molecular recycling, makes it possible for waste plastic to be remade into a reusable water bottle, for instance.

Plastic comes full circle on-shelf at Target Stores nationwide and online with the Eco Ello Bottle from Ello made from Eastman Tritan Renew with 50% certified recycled content. Ello is a manufacturer, wholesaler, and online retailer of sustainable food and beverage containers.

"Tritan Renew is the first recycled plastic material that stands up to the quality demands of our products and process, so we jumped at the chance to design a bottle that matches the sustainable qualities of the material itself," says Glen Gilmore, Ello's director of design. "The bottle minimizes material use while maximizing durability and cleanability to extend the overall life of the product."

Tritan Renew is made through Eastman's Advanced Circular Recycling technologies  also known as molecular recycling — which break down plastic waste into fundamental building blocks to create pristine new materials. By replacing traditional fossil feedstocks with recycled plastic, the company is helping to divert plastic waste from landfills and incinerators or from ending up as litter in the ocean. The material is highly durable, dishwasher safe and free of BPA, BPS, and BPF.

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"In the 'reduce, reuse, recycle' model, 'reduce' comes first — and so it did with this design," Gilmore says. "We incorporated the top-performing design details from our best-selling products to make this bottle as versatile and reliable as possible. From capacity to lid interface to carry-loop, we've optimized every inch. The lid is also designed to separate into individual parts, so the different components can be recycled where possible."

Ello is rolling out the new bottle as part of a larger sustainability push that includes extending its zero- waste product lines, minimizing single-use plastic in all its packaging, and investing in environmental education. The brand will sponsor an "Eco Summer Giveaway" and award a sustainability scholarship to a student pursuing a degree in environmental studies or a related field at a US institution. Ello also has plans to produce a limited-edition tote bag made locally from upcycled fabric in the fall.

"The Ello Eco Bottle is another great example of using Tritan Renew to demonstrate what is possible, right now, with Eastman's Advanced Circular Recycling technologies," says Courtland Jenkins, commercial director of Specialty Plastics for Eastman. "We're thrilled to be part of Ello's sustainability journey to make small changes now that add up to big impact for the future."

The recycled content is achieved by allocating the recycled waste plastic to Tritan Renew using a mass balance process certified by ISCC. 

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