Water bottles

A water bottle is a container used to hold water for consumption. This allows an individual to transport or carry the bottled water from one place to another. A water bottle is usually made of plastic, glass, or metal, and so most can be recycled. Water bottles can be single use, returnable, or reusable. Water bottles are used for drinking water, carbonated water, mineral water or distilled water. Water bottles can be refilled with water or other fluids such as orange juice, iced tea or soft drinks.


How to Choose a Water Bottle?
All water bottles (and food containers) offered at REI are constructed without the use of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has raised health safety questions. Our BPA-free water bottle assortment includes a variety of bottle material options. See our bottle comparison chart below to quickly compare the attributes of each material. Read more...

Types of water bottles

1. Plastic water bottles

A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed of plastic, with a neck that is narrower than its real body and an opening at the top. The mouth of the bottle is normally sealed with a plastic bottle cap. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from very small sample bottles to large carboys. Plastic bottles were first used commercially in 1947, but remained relatively expensive until the early 1960s when high-density polyethylene was introduced. They quickly became popular with both manufacturers and customers due to their lightweight nature and relatively low production costs compared with glass bottles. The food industry has almost completely replaced glass in many cases with plastic bottles, but wine and beer are still commonly sold in glass bottles. The benefits of plastic bottles are that they are inexpensive, transparent, and shatter resistant. Depending on the specific plastic construction, however, there may be questions regarding the safety of some of the chemicals in the plastic and how those interact with the water. Consumers have been warned about using warm water in some Polycarbonate bottles because of potential leaching of harmful chemicals into the water. One study concluded that water inside cloudy or scratched bottles is more vulnerable to contamination from phthalates or biphenyl A, commonly abbreviated as BPA. Phthalates are being fazed out of many products in the United States, Canada, and the European Union over health concerns. A 2010 report from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raised further concerns regarding exposure of fetuses, infants and young children to biphenyl A. In September 2010, Canada became the first country to declare BPA a toxic substance. Health and environmental issues: There is ongoing concern as to the use of plastics in consumer food packaging solutions. The environmental impacts of the disposal of these products, as well as concerns regarding consumer safety, are hotly debated. Construction: Plastic bottles are formed using a variety of techniques. The choice of material varies depending upon application. High Density Polyethylene: HDPE is the most widely used resin for plastic bottles. This material is economical, impact resistant, and provides a good moisture barrier. HDPE is compatible with a wide range of products including acids and caustics but is not compatible with solvents. It is supplied in FDA approved food grade. HDPE is naturally translucent and flexible. The addition of color will make HDPE opaque although not glossy. HDPE lends itself readily to silk screen decoration. While HDPE provides good protection at below freezing temperatures, it cannot be used with products filled at over 160 °F (71 °C) or products requiring a hermetic (vacuum) seal. Low Density Polyethylene: LDPE is similar to HDPE in composition. It is less rigid and generally less chemically resistant than HDPE, but is more translucent. LDPE is used primarily for squeeze applications. LDPE is significantly more expensive than HDPE. Polyethylene Terephthalate: Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET, PETE or polyester) is commonly used for carbonated beverage and water bottles. PET provides very good alcohol and essential oil barrier properties, generally good chemical resistance (although acetones and ketenes will attack PET) and a high degree of impact resistance and tensile strength. The orienting process serves to improve gas and moisture barrier properties and impact strength. This material does not provide resistance to high temperature applications—max. temp. 160 °F(71 °C). Polyvinyl Chloride: PVC is naturally clear, has extremely good resistance to oils, and has very low oxygen transmission. It provides an excellent barrier to most gases and its drop impact resistance is also very good. This material is chemically resistant, but it is vulnerable to solvents. PVC is an excellent choice for salad oil, mineral oil, and vinegar. It is also commonly used for shampoos and cosmetic products. PVC exhibits poor resistance to high temperatures and will distort at 160 °F (71 °C), making it incompatible with hot filled products Polypropylene: Polypropylene (PP) is used primarily for jars and closures and provides a rigid package with excellent moisture barrier. One major advantage of polypropylene is its stability at high temperatures, up to 200 °F. Polypropylene is autoclavable and offers the potential for steam sterilization. The compatibility of PP with high filling temperatures is responsible for its use with hot fill products such as pancake syrup. PP has excellent chemical resistance, but provides poor impact resistance in cold temperatures Polystyrene (PS): Styrene offers excellent clarity and stiffness at an economical cost. It is commonly used with dry products including vitamins, petroleum jellies, and spices. Styrene does not provide good barrier properties, and exhibits poor impact resistance. Fluorine Treated HDPE: Bottles are exposed to fluorine gas in a secondary operation, are similar in appearance to HDPE and have exceptional barrier properties to hydrocarbons and aromatic solvents. Fluorine treated bottles are excellent for use with insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, photographic chemicals, agricultural chemicals, household and industrial cleaners, electronic chemicals, medical cleaners and solvents, citrus products, d-lemon, flavors, fragrances, essential oils, surfactants, polishes, additives, graffiti cleaning products, pre-emergent’s, stone and tile care products, waxes, paint thinner, gasoline, biodiesel, xylem, acetone, kerosene and more. For non-bottle applications, fluorination of plastic can provide compliance with state and federal regulations. An example would be fluorination plastic fuel tanks used for lawn and garden equipment, automobiles, etc. Post Consumer Resin (PCR): PCR is a blend of reclaimed natural HDPE (primarily from milk and water containers) and virgin resin. The recycled material is cleaned, ground and decompounded into uniform pellets along with prime virgin material especially designed to build up environmental stress crack resistance. PCR has no odor but exhibits a slight yellow tint in its natural state. This tint can be hidden by the addition of color. PCR is easily processed and inexpensive. However, it cannot come into direct contact with food or pharmaceutical products. PCR can be produced in a variety of recycled content percentages up to 100%. K-Resin SBC: K-resin is ideally suited to a wide variety of packaging applications by virtue of its sparkling clarity, high gloss, and impact resistance. K-Resin, a styrene derivative, is easily processed on polyethylene equipment. It is suitable for packaging many products but is specifically incompatible with fats and unsaturated oils or solvents. This material is frequently used for display and point-of-purchase packaging.

2. Metal water bottles
The aluminium bottle is a bottle made of aluminium (BrE) or aluminum (AmE). In some countries, it is also referred to as a bottlecan, is a bottle made entirely of aluminium that holds beer, soft drinks, wine, and other liquids.


History & overview

The aluminium beverage bottle made via the impact extrusion process was introduced to the North American beverage market in the fall of 2001 as an ecological alternative to plastic bottles by Coca-Cola under the Powerade brand (Psych and Raize) at the National Association of Convenience Stores NACS Show. The Powerade aluminium bottles were supplied by Exal Corporation. Youngstown, Ohio-based Exal Corporation, the world's largest producer of impact-extruded aluminium packaging, is the most significant supplier of aluminium bottles in North America and Europe including most bottles utilized by major brewers. The company also markets a new high speed technology, known as Coil to Can or (C2C), that allows for the manufacture of aluminium bottles at weights 30 - 40% below the weight of impact extruded bottles at 2 to 4 times the manufacturing speed. C2C technology also utilzes post consumer recycled (PCR) aluminium alloy to manufacture aluminium bottles. Hermitage, PA-based CCL Container a subsidiary ofCCL Industries, a leading producer of recyclable aluminium bottles, packaging, aerosol containers and other specialty products, started developing bottles in 1989 in North America for non-beverage applications.


3. AluminiumBottles for Wine

In a recent study conducted by Owens-Illinois which polled nearly 150 wineries in the USA, glass was still the highest used packaging material with 99-100% of the wineries still using glass packaging, despite the fact that between 17-20 percent of the surveyed wineries had plans to chang their packaging mix in the future. Apparently glass will still be the preferred packaging material by the majority of wineries.

A short study conducted by GfK among wine consumers of 9 European countries (Germany, France, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Russia, Poland) brought good news to wine brands: European consumers are loyal to their favourite brands. I haven’t data about the consumer loyalty in the US, the third-largest wine market in the world, where consumption rose 16% between 2003 and 2008, and is expected to increase another 7% by 2013, according to Euromonitor. Like Australia, the US wine consumer might be more open to packaging innovations, although the Owens-Illinois study suggests otherwise.

The stuffy wine industry which is still overwhelmingly marketing its products in the old industry-standard glass bottles with the same old, uninspiring labels, sees some progressive wineries executing a packaging design revolution in their attempt to attract new consumers. Success in the wine market comes from being chic, relevant, drink accessible, and importantly single serve. A lot of new wine brands created innovative packages that let to the introduction of the MonOxbar-PET bottles of Constar (see picture), the bag-in-boxes in various, even exclusive designs, TetraPaks in all its variations, South African’s Astra Winebag and even stand-up pouches, but aluminium containers always have been left alone.

Although in the US aluminium bottles in several market segments of beverages are not uncommon, the wine industry have never looked at aluminium, probably due to the generally accepted assumption that wine and aluminium (even with a inside liner) are not merging well together.


4. Double Wall Acrylic Tumbler with Straw

When it comes to using promotional products to draw attention to your product or brand, few items work better than these unique 16 oz. Double Wall Acrylic Tumblers with Straws. This 16 oz. Double Wall Acrylic Tumbler with Straw is the perfect item to use for promotional purposes because of its completely unique designs and quality features. From afar these 16 oz. Double Wall Acrylic Tumblers with Straws may look like disposable drinkware items, but they are in fact reusable and incredibly stylish. Since they come in colors like green, red, orange, blue, purple and charcoal, they can fit any color scheme or use multicolor designs to draw attention. These acrylic tumblers hold up to sixteen ounces of liquid storage which is often considered the perfect portion.

The features and designs for these 16 oz. Double Wall Acrylic Tumbler with Straw are incredible and have a truly unique appeal. One of the most impressive qualities is the durability of these acrylic tumblers. They have a soft almost frail look about them, but upon further inspection you’ll find these products are incredibly durable and strong. Look even closer and you will find incredible features and designs like a long and durable straw which is great for easy sipping, screw-top access and double insulated acrylic walls. The focus on insulation for these quality colorful drinkware items means they can keep liquids cooler for longer periods of time. The dimensions for these 16 oz. Double Wall Acrylic Tumbler with Straw are 6 ¼ inches in height and four inches in width. These acrylic tumblers also have large custom imprint areas which have custom printed logos as large as 2 ½ inches in height and 2 ½ inches in width.


5. Glass bottles

A glass bottle is a bottle created from glass. Glass bottles can vary in size considerably, but are most commonly found in sizes ranging between about 10ml and 5 litres.

The history of glass can be traced back to at least 12,000 BC where glass coated objects have been found.

Millions of glass bottles are created worldwide every day. In the US, there is an average of at least two bottle-making factories in each county. It is a highly mechanized process, and the bottles in use now are no longer hand blown as they were in the past.

A glass bottle is 100% recyclable with many new bottles containing glass which was created over 20 years ago. Less energy is used in recycling a glass bottle than creating the glass from raw materials, helping the environment.

When glass bottles of liquid are dropped or subjected to shock, the water hammer effect may cause hydrodynamic glass breakage.

Glass bottles manufacturing takes place over several stages. To briefly outline the processes from beginning to end: raw material, melting, forming, annealing, physical inspection, machine & laser inspection, physical inspection (second time), quality control, and finally packing.

To strengthen glass bottles, the process of lamination is sometimes done. Laminated safety glass is made by combining a layer of plastic over glass. When a non-laminated bottle is dropped, the glass breaks sending pieces of glass everywhere. When a laminated bottle is dropped, the glass still breaks, though the outer layer of plastic contains the broken pieces of glass.

Once formation is complete, some bottles may suffer from stress as a result of unequal cooling rates. An annealing oven can be used to reheat and cool glass containers to rectify stress and make the bottle stronger.