Korean water producer Sansu has partnered with TotalEnergies Corbion to utilize its Luminy PLA bioplastics in cups and bottles, with Sansu’s affiliate WeCycle collaborating with Cass beer - official partner of the Paris Olympics Korean House - to collect used PLA cups.
Apparently made from 100% biobased PLA sourced from sugarcane, the cups will be used at the Cass Pocha outdoor food and drink stall located near the Eiffel Tower. Luminy PLA bioplastics are said to have a 75% lower carbon footprint than traditional plastics and can be recycled or composted at end-of-life.
Sansu states that, through WeCycle, it is organically recycling a portion of collected PLA cups into biogas via anaerobic digestion at its commercial pilot plant in Korea.
The Paris Olympic Committee is reportedly committed to eliminating single-use plastics, opting for glass bottles and drinking fountains instead of single-use plastic bottles and cups. Cass beer will be using PLA cups, which will be collected for recycling. TotalEnergies Corbion says that PLA bioplastic cups require less energy to transport compared to their glass counterparts.
The company adds that Paris 2024 had to consider its sustainability tactics to meet its goal of halving the carbon emissions of the average of London 2012 and Rio 2016, and the inclusion of bioplastics at the Paris Olympics highlights their potential in large-scale events.
“As always, we are happy to have this opportunity to utilize our partnership with TotalEnergies Corbion to support big projects that help shape the future of sustainability and PLA bioplastics,” said Ji-Hoon Kim, CEO of Sansu. “Working with brands like Cass who advocate for differentiated solutions is also crucial on our collective journey towards a greener future.”
In March, the two companies agreed to produce a 100% Luminy PLA bioplastic bottle with an embossed label, in hopes of driving the adoption of recycled PLA as a feedstock. A 100% PLA bottle is hoped to negate the removal of extra components and streamline the recycling process.
In the run-up to the 2024 Olympics, over 100 sports organizations and athletes signed a letter led by Sailors for the Sea Powered by Oceana and EcoAthletes calling for The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to increase reusable packaging and tackle plastic pollution. The letter’s signatories encouraged the companies to use the games as a ‘launchpad’ to introduce reusables to future sporting events – citing their concern about the ongoing plastic pollution crisis.
On the first day of this year’s Wimbledon Championships, evian partnered with the The All England Lawn Tennis Club to provide an evian water refill system for spectators, in six locations across the Grounds. The evian player refill system introduced last year was continued, with players provided with their own reusable bottles.
In July, we reported the results of our collaboration with a local youth football team, aiming to learn about young consumer habits and behaviour. Players were asked to keep a record of how they chose to bring water to matches and how many individual bottles they used over the course of the season.
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