Let me take you around the back into a bottle-making factory. We make a few styles of promotional plastic bottles here in Australia (yes, manufacturing is not dead in Australia). The process of bottles is fun and an eye-opener for many. I’ll stop talking now; let’s dive in and see how exactly a bag of plastic pellets becomes a bottle.
Bag of Plastic Pellets
A bag of plastic pellets into drink bottles is a great way to reduce plastic waste and help the environment. It‘s an innovative way to reuse plastic and turn it into something useful and sustainable. The process of turning plastic pellets into drink bottles is quite simple: the pellets are melted down and then extruded into a bottle shape.
The bottles are then cooled, filled, and sealed. This method of repurposing plastic can help reduce the amount of plastic waste in landfills, while also providing an affordable and sustainable way of producing drink bottles. Furthermore, the process of melting and extruding the pellets into bottles can be done relatively quickly and cheaply, making it a viable solution for businesses and consumers alike.
It all starts with White Pellets to create a white bottle. Then, if we want to make a blue bottle (or any other colour), we sprinkle a few blue specs into the machine. You would be surprised, but only a few blue pellets are enough to make a dark navy blue coloured bottle.
Making a Polypropylene Bottle
Today we will be making a bottle using the material polypropylene. This material produces a quality soft feel bottle with either solid or translucent colours. Popular amongst many sporting teams and school kids around Australia, you cannot go wrong with this bottle style. The polypropylene is used to make both the bottle and the lid.
Step 1: Plastic Pellets are sucked into a machine (a big one)
Step 2: The Pellets are melted inside a machine
Step 3: The pellets are squirted into a Mould
Step 4: Once set, the mould opens up and out pops a bottle
Step 5: Visual inspection.
When these bottles come out of the machine, they are warm and soft to the touch. Not all of them come out perfectly, though. For the ones with defects, we chuck them into a recycling machine to convert them back into pellets.
Repeat this process hundreds of times to create hundreds of bottles!
There are not a lot of bottle producers here in Australia nowadays. This facility is one of 3 Australia-wide that I know of. In my next post, I will talk about:
1) Bottle Branding
2) Bottle Recycling
3) Bottle Cleaning (inside the production stage)
Looking forward to showing you more behind-the-scenes information from promotional items manufacturing in Australia!
About the Author
Aiza Cruz
Aiza Cruz is the Head of Product & Marketing at Cubic Promote, with over seven years of experience in Australia's branded merchandise and apparel industry. Aiza's expertise in project management enables her to effectively manage bulk orders, ensuring they arrive on time and securely. She also writes industry articles and blogs for Cubic Promote, sharing her insights on product trends and best marketing practices. Aiza’s deep understanding of the industry, combined with her ability to oversee complex and rush orders, has made her a trusted authority in optimising branded merchandise for businesses.
