Seoul City Introduces 'Integrated Cap' for Arisu to Facilitate Easy Separate Disposal

Introducing a 'One-Piece Cap' That Eliminates Loss Concerns and an Eco-Friendly Laser Marking Machine Without Ink for Manufacturing Date Marking

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the 14th, Seoul City announced that it will newly introduce an ‘eco-friendly bottled water Arisu’ by adopting an ‘integrated cap’ and ‘laser marking’ method to enhance the convenience of separate disposal and maximize recycling of ‘bottled water Arisu,’ which is stockpiled and supplied to support water outages or disaster areas.

The newly launched ‘eco-friendly bottled water Arisu’ uses an ‘integrated cap’ that allows the cap to be disposed of together with the bottle, and if necessary, the PET bottle, cap, and ring can be completely separated, greatly improving the convenience of separate disposal of transparent PET bottles. Additionally, to ensure that the separated plastic can be recycled into high-quality recycled raw materials, the manufacturing date marking uses an ‘eco-friendly laser marking’ method without ink, and the cap is also free of dyes.

This is a new release about two years after the launch of the ‘label-free bottled water Arisu’ in May 2020, aimed at increasing producers’ responsibility for the environment and maximizing the convenience of PET bottle recycling. It will be applied to all bottled water Arisu produced from June onward. The ‘integrated cap’ applied to the new bottled water Arisu remains attached to the PET bottle even after opening, eliminating the risk of loss and allowing repeated reuse. Also, by pulling the cap strongly upward, it separates along the perforation, making it easy to remove both the cap and the ring.

During the process of separating and collecting PET bottles, there is no risk of the cap being discarded as general waste, and if the bottle is crushed and the cap closed, it prevents contamination of the PET bottle by foreign substances, allowing it to be used as high-quality recycled raw material. The PET bottle (PET) and the cap and ring (HDPE) are made of different materials, but they can be easily separated through density separation during the crushing and washing process after sorting.

Also, when removing the cap from the PET bottle, the plastic ring of a different material does not remain on the bottle neck, making it easier to separate and dispose of PET, cap, and ring when the separation and sorting process of transparent PET bottles is improved in the future. The integrated cap is already recommended for use by the European Union (EU), and in May, a famous overseas beverage company also launched a product with an integrated cap.

Furthermore, the Arisu logo, which was previously printed in white ink on pink plastic caps, has been improved to use the raw color without additional pigment, increasing the recycling rate of the cap part. The method of printing the manufacturing date and expiration date on the PET bottle body with ink has been improved to an eco-friendly laser marking method without ink. This ensures that no foreign substances (ink) remain on the PET bottle from the manufacturing process, enabling recycling into high-quality recycled raw materials.

Compared to conventional inkjet marking machines, laser marking machines can be used semi-permanently without generating consumables such as ink cartridges, and can reduce defective products caused by ink head contamination, which is expected to minimize plastic waste generated during the production process. The city recommended that the correct disposal method for the newly introduced bottled water Arisu is the same as the separate collection method for general transparent PET bottles: empty the contents cleanly, crush the bottle, close the cap, and dispose of it separately.

Meanwhile, bottled water Arisu, whose production volume has been significantly reduced since 2018, has been supplied only to areas with water outages and disaster zones since 2019. This year, it plans to supply 500,000 bottles, which is about one-twelfth of the 6.02 million bottles produced in 2017. As of June, 260,000 bottles have been supplied, all of which were provided to 20 locations including Seoul City’s COVID-19 related residential treatment centers and wildfire-affected areas in Uljin and Samcheok.

Gu Ami, head of Seoul City Waterworks Headquarters, said, “Separately disposing of recyclable PET bottles, cans, etc., reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 88 kg per person annually, which is equivalent to planting 13.3 trees,” and added, “With the changes introduced in bottled water Arisu, Seoul City is expected to take a step closer to becoming a sustainable resource-circulating city.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.