A circular alternative to plastic packaging

Ball Corporation is launching a new impact extruded aluminium bottle line that provides a circular solution to plastic pollution. “In the hands of our sustainability, innovation and product design experts, aluminium is taking shape as a new bottle – the ‘Infinity’ Aluminium Bottle – that is designed to be made again,” says Ball in a press release.

Available in various shapes and sizes, this impact extruded aluminium bottle can be customized for numerous beauty, personal care, food and beverage products. Unlike other substrates in these categories, such as plastic shampoo bottles or jars for cosmetics, Ball’s aluminium bottles are infinitely recyclable, and can be turned into other aluminium products over and over again.

“Plastic waste that ends up in the natural environment has led to more public discussion about packaging, its life cycle and recyclability,” said Jason Galley, director of innovation and sustainability at Ball. “Consumers are demanding more environmentally friendly solutions for packaging their everyday products. We combined our product design and sustainable aluminium packaging expertise to develop another truly circular packaging solution – the Infinity Aluminium Bottle.”

The company’s new impact extruded product line is suitable for packaging almost any liquid. The innovative aluminium bottles are available in a range of sizes and formats, and are customizable for various products. Ideal categories for the Infinity Bottles include shampoos and conditioners, soaps, body creams, spirits, energy shots, yogurt, dressings, syrups, condiments and more. The bottles are available with a re-closable threaded cap that allows consumers to twist the top on and off.

The Infinity Aluminium Bottle line features all of the sustainability credentials of aluminium. Like Ball’s aluminium beverage cans, cups and Alumi-Tek bottles, the impact extruded aluminium bottle is monomaterial – it consists of only one material and can be easily sorted and recycled. In fact, aluminium can be recycled an infinite number of times without losing quality. Aluminium also retains its value throughout the recycling process, so it can be kept in circulation indefinitely without becoming waste and ending up in the ocean or in landfills.

After use, an aluminium bottle can be recycled and returned as a new packaging format in just 60 days. It can also be recycled to take on a new life as another aluminium product, such as consumer electronics or a bicycle. Other substrates achieve much lower recycling rates and, if recycled, are in many cases downcycled and eventually become waste.

In addition to strong recycling credentials, aluminium bottles have a number of other advantages that help improve resource efficiency and enable circularity. For example, aluminium is lightweight, which saves energy in transport. Once bottles are ready for design, they can be branded without the use of sleeves or labels. Even the most creative and complex designs can be printed on aluminium using the full circumference of the bottle.

Ball’s high-definition printing and graphic design technologies such as ‘Eyeris’ HD printing, UV light reactive ink, Matte & Gloss, or Tactile printing help brands to create custom packaging and differentiate themselves to stand out on the shelf. Additional shaping and embossing solutions, such as Ball’s 360° technology, are also available.