An entirely plant-based water bottle is launched in tandem with a pact to drive up PET recycling rates in the UAE, with a reduction in CO2 emissions resulting in an improved environmental footprint.
Agthia Group PJSC, one of the region’s biggest food and beverage companies and producers of Al Ain, the UAE’s leading bottled water brand, has announced a major breakthrough in the push towards sustainability with its launch of MEA’s first entirely plant-based water bottle.
Unveiled on the sidelines of the Gulfood exhibition in Dubai in February, the Al Ain Plant Bottle is comprised of top-to-bottom polylactic acid (PLA), an entirely plant-based resin which is biodegradable within 80 days. Even the bottle cap is made from this material.
This significantly reduces the carbon footprint of the water bottle, from both a production perspective and in terms of its post-consumer profile, and is part of Agthia’s drive towards a more environmentally friendly approach.
Also forming part of this drive is the company’s signing of an MoU with Veolia, the France-based global leader in optimised resource management, to raise awareness of, and increase participation in, PET bottle recycling in the UAE.
Agthia Group CEO Tariq Ahmed Saeed Al Wahedi told us more about the Al Ain Plant Bottle innovation, and the company’s wider thoughts on sustainability.
“Partnering with Veolia, a true global leader in resource management, and the launch of Al Ain Plant Bottle, is a testament to our commitment to sustainability,” says Mr Al Wahedi. “It serves as an ideal platform for us to showcase the group’s latest responsible R&D efforts.”
The science behind the Al Ain Plant Bottle is based on converting plants to a special polymer material obtained from the fermentation of sugars contained in, without using a single drop of petroleum or its byproducts going into the container. The bottle was developed at Agthia’s new Packaging Technology Center in Al Ain, under the strictest quality standards and under manufacturing conditions that consumes 60% less energy during entire process and has the best-in-class CO2 environmental footprint, with savings of more than 50% on non-renewable energy.
The company admits biosources and renewable sources currently have their limitations, but insists they – and PLA in particular – have the long-term potential not only in achieving environmental aims but also reducing costs.
“We are trying to provide options for the consumers to choose from and help them understand their need,” says Mr Al Wahedi. “The possibility of scaling up [PLA] to a major step may seem bleak due to the limited supply of raw materials, but it is a robust and sustainable solution. PLA is compostable and serves as a recyclable option.”
Mr Al Wahedi also believes PLA is a far superior solution to alternatives presented as being sustainable.
“The coated paperboard concept is deceptive and misleading and cannot be termed a sustainable resource or recyclable for, in the long run, they will be sent to landfill,” he says. “And aluminium cans may be seen as sustainable when considering their recycling rate, but even this recycling results in a carbon footprint about seven or eight times more than that of recycled PET.”
Dr Rabih Kamleh, Agthia’s Senior Vice-President of Research and Development and Quality Assurance, spells out how PLA is not only environmentally friendly but economically so, too.
“Cost-wise, PLA is cheaper than a carton or paper-based product such as Tetra Pak,” says Dr Kamleh. “Yet the reason we opted for PLA is to reduce our CO2 footprint. When we worked out the CO2 footprint per gram of packaging, we found that PLA is the least when compared to all other alternatives.
“We did consider other options in line with the single-use plastic ban. The problem with PET is the misuse of PET itself, but if you take care to recycle and not dump in in landfills, it can be used effectively within the circular economy. “While PLA has the lowest CO2 emissions, because plants capture the CO2, for now it has to be imported, whereas PET can be produced locally.” Accordingly, PET recycling forms the backbone of Agthia’s agreement with Veolia. Launched in Abu Dhabi last month, Agthia intends to ultimately take the PET collection initiative nationwide.
“The MOU that we signed with Veolia has two levels,” says Mr Al Wahedi. “The first is related to PET. Agthia has a consumer service department agreement for UAE nationals. We aim to have a collection system in place for entities across the UAE, starting with three major stores in Abu Dhabi. “People bring in PET bottles, and under this scheme, they are given incentives in points depending on the total weight of the bottles exchanged, and they can redeem these points against the purchase of other items.”
Mr Al Wahedi continues: “Another pilot project is visiting the community [to collect PET bottles]. We have identified one such community in Abu Dhabi and eventually, we plan to cover across the UAE. “There will be an app with which the consumer can order water, and in parallel organise the collection of their empty bottles.”
Erich Konig, CEO of Veolia Environmental Services Emirates, says: “ Veolia is really proud and excited about the partnership with Agthia, aiming to structure the local PET ecosystem by developing innovative and digital collection solutions to address the challenges of post-consumed plastic bottles and encouraging the creation of a more sustainable and circular economy for plastic.”
But this initiative only applies to PET, and Agthia’s Al Ain Plant Bottle is made from PLA. Can the recycling drive incorporate PLA too? “PLA is different,” says Mr Al Wahedi, “so as of now with PLA we are addressing only the B2B sector.
“We don’t want to contaminate the PET stream [with other materials], as this would affect the processing of recycled PET. This is why we are launching PLA for B2B, to ensure collection [of bottles] is segregated, but we are working on a solution. “[With PLA], the company transforms the products into a compost in a conducive environment, and this is later transformed into a natural fertiliser. So, to sum it up, we are currently working on PET collection for recycling, PLA collection for composting and PLA collection for recycling.”
PLA can also be incinerated, and while this approach might typically be frowned upon by environmentalists, Mr. Al Wahedi says with PLA, even this can be put to good use. “We can produce energy from incineration,” he says, “and PLA does not emit toxic chemicals like petroleum-based materials do.”
So, the Al Ain Plant Bottle – which Agthia aims to introduce to the consumer market in May – can be recycled or safely incinerated, or even if discarded it will decompose before long. But that is just the bottle itself – what of its labels, closure elements and over-wrap? Mr. Al Wahedi says Agthia has this covered, too.
“The label can be paper-based or PLA-based,” he says, “and we have two options for the secondary packaging – either a plant-based or recycled carton, or shrink-wrap is again is plant-based. So, it is a total plant-based packaging that we are offering.”
Abu Dhabi-based Agthia has already reaped plaudits with its initiatives, most notably from His Excellency Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, the UAE’s Climate Change and Environment Minister, who was present at the signing of the MoU with Veolia.
“Innovation is at the heart of the country’s transition to a circular economy,” says Dr Al Zeyoudi. “The launch of Al Ain’s plant-based water bottle and Agthia’s other sustainability initiatives are prime examples of how innovation can go a long way in driving environmental sustainability.
“I applaud Agthia for its strong commitment to integrating sustainability as a core value across its operations, and we [the government] are proud of the role Emirati private businesses play in supporting our nationwide drive towards sustainability.
“We hope to see more businesses across all sectors with the same level of awareness and commitment to reducing their footprint to ensure that the UAE remains sustainable well into the future.”