Origin Materials develops PET bottle cap

West Sacramento, California-based Origin Materials Inc. has developed an all-polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle cap, which it says can improve the postconsumer recycling process for PET beverage containers.

Origin says the caps can be made with several types of PET, including recycled-content PET or Origin’s own bio-based PET. The company adds that its PET bottle caps also offer a better oxygen and CO₂ barrier than high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP).

The California company says its patent-pending design assists in producing mono-material products, which are typically easier to recycle than products made from multiple materials.

“We identified a global sustainability challenge and an opportunity to solve it,” says John Bissell, co-founder and co-CEO of Origin Materials. “An all-PET bottle and cap and closure system is an obvious, necessary next step in beverage packaging and recycling.”

Origin Materials says the product line has the potential to gain market share in an approximately $65 billion global caps and closures market, which is anticipated to grow to $96 billion by 2030.

“This is what happens when you bring together some of the best materials and polymer scientists and engineers in the world under one roof,” Bissell says. “We saw an obvious need for a mono-material solution and the creativity of our team rose to the challenge. I am proud that our team’s expertise in PET led to this tremendous advancement for recycling.”

The company says cap tethering mandates, designed to incentivize the recoverability and recyclability of bottles, could further increase the demand for Origin’s PET caps and closures. Tethering mandates require that caps remain firmly attached to bottles after opening and during the product’s life cycle, with the aim of reducing plastic litter on beaches and in the ocean.

While traditional caps must be separated from PET bottles during recycling, Origin’s PET caps would not need to be separated from their tethered containers and could thus be recycled “simply and easily,” the company says.