Bottle-to-Bottle Process

We feel that there is plenty of plastic available to recycle anew and that all brands, who are able to, should work to reuse what’s already available, instead of creating new plastic.

Our founder worked for years to secure a supply & production chain with partners and certifications able to produce our one-of-a-kind bottle: a safe, food-grade package made from certified ocean-bound plastic which helps to clean up coastal environments. Our “bottle-to-bottle” process creates a true circular economy.

Here’s how it’s done:

• Ocean-Bound Plastic is collected from global coastal environments
• That plastic is sorted then cleaned
• That cleaned plastic is then ground into flakes before being shipped to our production partners in the US
• The plastic flakes are then intensively washed, rinsed then dried
• Those dried flakes are heated to remove any remaining contaminates in a process that is FDA Approved to allow for that plastic to be used in direct food packaging
• The purified flakes are melted and extruded into pellets which are then reformed into our bottles
• After you’ve enjoyed your bottle of ZenWTR, we ask that you recycle the entire bottle, label and cap so that it may be processed for reuse, to be born again as new products including bottles and other materials.

We certainly don’t take the easy road:

• Sourcing ocean-bound from at-risk global communities means it takes longer for our source materials to reach the US for production
• Recycled plastic is more expensive than “virgin” or new plastic
• Processing recycled plastic vs. virgin plastic requires additional steps which takes more time than starting with virgin plastic.

Why we do it:

• We are able to support coastal cleanup and reduce the amount of future plastic that would otherwise have polluted our oceans
• Recycling Ocean-Bound Plastic benefits global recycling communities by providing bottle collectors and processors with reliable living wages and, in some countries, establishing the first ever recycling and deposit programs
• Using recycled plastic vs. virgin plastic reduces energy use by 84% and greenhouse gas emissions by 71% per pound vs. using virgin plastic

We hope that in time, more brands will join us so we can create a greater positive impact for the future health of our oceans and planet.