Over half a million Euro bottles leave the OPHARDT Hygiene production line every year. The empty containers are either added to one of the popular ingo-man® brand Euro dispensers or they leave the logistics center in Issum on the Lower Rhine on pallets. In 2025, we at OPHARDT will be carrying out a significant material changeover for the Euro bottles, which will bring many advantages – we have summarized some of them for you.
Let’s start with some material science. The HDPE (high-density polyethylene) used so far is characterized above all by the fact that it is particularly rigid and resistant – important properties for use as a container in a hand sanitizer dispenser. PET (polyethylene terephthalate) scores highly in terms of product performance, particularly due to its durability and impact resistance as well as its transparent shape, which we will come back to in a moment.
Lower weight. Lower emissions.
The first aspect in favor of PET is a particularly important one: weight. A half-liter PET Euro bottle weighs 23 grams. Its HDPE counterpart weighs 32 grams, resulting in a weight reduction of over 28 percent. This is even more significant when comparing the 1 liter euro bottles. Here we achieve a weight reduction of over 40 percent by switching from HDPE to PET (56 grams versus 32 grams).
“By replacing HDPE with PET for our Euro bottles, we are taking a further step towards modern packaging design.” Ali Mirbach, Research and Development at OPHARDT.
The reduced weight results in significant advantages when transporting the Euro bottles, for example by reducing CO2 emissions. The lighter Euro bottle made of PET therefore already has one point to its credit.
Clear design for a more transparent hygiene.
A key feature of PET is its clear, transparent design, whereas HDPE is considered to be milky and opaque. This property of the PET material has a positive effect on the hygiene infrastructure. Firstly, the fill level of the Euro bottle is much easier to see than the HDPE version. This makes it easier to assess whether the hand sanitizer or hand wash preparation needs to be replaced. This is also in line with the current recommendation from the Commission for Hospital Hygiene and Infection Prevention at the Robert Koch Institute (KRINKO) on hand hygiene in healthcare facilities.[1]
“With the introduction of the PET Euro bottle, we are setting another industry-wide standard for a more sustainable material cycle.” Klaus Zscherpe, Head Global Product Categories ingo-man at OPHARDT Hygiene.
In its current recommendation from 2016, the KRINKO writes: “Dispensers must be operated and maintained in such a way that microbial contamination of the pump head is easily avoided. The fill level must be clearly visible [Cat. II].”
In addition to fill level detection, the transparent design of the Euro bottle has another advantage. The quality of the hand disinfectant or soap used can be better assessed – at least in terms of visually recognizable impurities.
Please contact OPHARDT Customer Service to find out more about the PET Euro bottle.
Reference:
[1] Kommission für Krankenhaushygiene und Infektionsprävention beim Robert Koch-Insitut “Händehygiene in Einrichtungen des Gesundheitswesens.” Bundesgesundheitsblatt-Gesundheitsforschung-Gesundheitsschutz 9 (2016): 1189.
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