Evian moves to environment-friendly packaging

By T. Sima Gunawan

JAKARTA (JP): A French company recently started bottling its mineral water in environmentally friendly packaging.

Evian, the brand name of the mineral water, has spent US$40 million in the investment of the bottles, according to Pascal Bardoil, area manager of its mother company, Danone International Brand.

Made of polyethylene terephthalate, the bottles contain 15 percent less plastic than the bottles the company previously used and can be recycled, Pascal said.

The bottles can be made into various products, ranging from fiberfill for sleeping bags to polyester carpets. But the problem is they cannot be remade into bottles.

The plastic can be recycled several times. Then it will come to a certain point when the recycling process is not economically feasible because of the high cost.

The plastic is recycled by melting the bottles, screening out contaminants, like caps, and then solidifying the purified plastic into small pellets. The pellets are then sold to plastic manufactures, which blend them with new polymers to make new products.

Evian does not have the facilities to recycle its bottles here, but local PT Aqua Golden Mississippi has. Since 1993, Aqua has held environmental awareness drives, which includes the "buy the bottles back" program. Under this program, the company buys the polyethylene terephthalate bottles back and crushes them before sending them to recycling centers.

Aqua used to buy between four and five tons of bottles a day, but today the amount has dropped because many of the bottles go to other companies which are interested in the business.

A 500 ml plastic bottle is bought back for Rp 10, while a 1,500 ml bottle fetches Rp 20.

From this program, Aqua has so far earned Rp 800 million (US$347,800), which it then donated to the Dana Mitra Lingkungan Foundation to fund environmental activities.

The foundation's executive director, Eka Budianta, praised Aqua for its efforts in preserving the environment. He said in a recent discussion on green consumerism that entrepreneurs and industries should serve as moral guides to realizing the green consumerism ideal.

While many companies still consider the environment to be a public relations exercise, Aqua has made concrete efforts to save the environment, according to Eka.

"The bottles can be made into polyester thread, striping band, zippers and various other things. But we can't use them to make bottles for our products because the clarity will not be the same," said Usman, deputy head of Aqua's environment awareness program.

Compared to plastic bottles, glass bottles are more environmentally friendly because they can be reused.

"Yes, that's true. We are discussing the possibility of producing glass bottles," Usman told The Jakarta Post.

There are several types of plastic resin. The most degradable ones are polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate and high- density polyethylene. Soda pop bottles are typically made of polyethylene terephthalate, while milk and water jugs are often made of high-density polyethylene.

In the United States, containers which are recyclable are labeled with the symbol of recycling -- three arrows forming a triangle encompassing a number. The higher the number, the more difficult the recycling process. Products made out of polyethylene terephthalate have the number one inside the triangle. Number two is for products made out of high-density polyethylene.

Number three is for polyvinyl chloride (PVC), of which water bottles are typically made; number four for low-density polyethylene of which thin bags and sacks are generally made; number five for polypropylene products such as food containers and lids; number six for polystyrene made products such as clear trays, and number seven products like expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) from which disposable cups are made of.

More than 20 states in the United States have banned expanded polystyrene for packaging and many European countries are following this step, Asia Business magazine reported in January.

Styrofoam is banned because it is nondegradable.

In Indonesia, however, styrofoam is very popular. It is used in food packaging and is used by most supermarkets and restaurants.

"We use styrofoam because it is strong. We use lots of sauce in our food. If we use cardboard boxes, I'm afraid it would be messy," an employee of a Japanese fast-food restaurant said.

Sunoto, a staff member of the assistant to the minister of environment who is in charge of business matters, said Indonesia could not just ban styrofoam, saying that "things must be done step by step."

"We can't take drastic action such as banning styrofoam. What we should do is increase public awareness of the environment," he said.

Edible

Some developed countries are using edible packaging made of starch.

The Chemical Department, School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia, is doing a study on the possibilities of making packaging from starch, said Asmu Wahyu, head of the department.

The study is being done in cooperation with the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

Developed countries are trying hard to reduce the use of plastic packaging. Paper bags are widely used.

On the contrary, the use of plastic bags in Indonesia is growing. Supermarkets, department stores, small shops and sidewalk vendors package sales in plastic bags.

A factory located in Delanggu, Central Java, recently stopped producing jute sacks because it could not compete with the popularity of plastic bags. The company officially closed down on April 1, and its 400 employees were laid off.

According to head the Center for Research of Human Resources and the Environment, University of Indonesia, Retno Soetaryono, the use of styrofoam, plastic and other packaging which is not environmentally friendly is against the law because they pollute the environment.

"It is clear that the law prohibits people from polluting the environment. Therefore, using such packaging is against the law," she said.

The popularity of plastic depends on consumer patterns. Therefore, it is consumers who are expected to play the biggest role in the reduction of environmentally harmful packaging.

"If you want to buy food and take it home, the best thing to do is to bring your own food containers. But people, especially rich ones, are too embarrassed to take along food containers," Retno said.

People like plastic because it is light, strong and cheap, but they forget about the environmental factors.

Budi Supriyanto Adiputro, an environmental biologist of University of Indonesia, said that it takes 400 years for PVC products to completely breakdown.

"You think that plastic is cheap, but you are wrong because you don't consider the environmental cost," Budi said.

Anyone can help save the environment. Here are some tips for consumers who want to go green:

* Buy products which are naturally grown. It is difficult to differentiate vegetables and fruits which grow well because of chemical substances. It is safe to buy vegetables which look less than perfect, imperfection does not necessarily mean rottenness.

* Buy products with environmentally friendly packaging.

* Buy products in refillable containers.

* If you go shopping, take your own shopping bag.

* Don't buy food in styrofoam packaging. For food to go, take along your own food container if possible.