Bottle-to-bottle Recycler Tackles Ocean Plastic Pollution

As part of its closed loop philosophy, CarbonLITE Industries, a global recycler and producer of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET), is launching a new category: 100 percent post-consumer, ocean-diverted plastic.

CarbonLITE's newest offering will replace virgin materials for food, beverage and cosmetic applications. These products will have the dual benefit of reducing ocean plastics and the amount of virgin material produced, according to the company.

"Plastic pollution in the ocean is impacting animal health and our food chain and must be urgently addressed. Our team worked diligently with experts to source and provide a statistically meaningful supply of certified ocean-diverted plastic, so our customers can be part of the solution," said Jason Farahnik, director of brand partnerships and resin sales at CarbonLITE, in a statement.

CarbonLITE also owns PinnPACK Packaging, a sustainable food packaging company in southern California, which allows it to introduce this grade of ocean-diverted plastic in a vertically integrated enterprise.

"We are excited to lead this effort and be among the first thermoforming companies to offer food packaging from ocean-diverted plastic," said Ira Maroofian, president of PinnPACK, in a statement.

Since its founding, CarbonLITE has been focused on closed loop, bottle-to-bottle recycling. The company recycles more than 4 billion beverage containers annually between its facilities in California and Texas. A third plant is underway in Pennsylvania, which will increase CarbonLITE's capacity to more than 6 billion bottles a year.