Reusable packaging technology reduces waste from plastic water bottles

The patented container coupling technology, DBA the Eco Connect Bottle® System, (eco-connectbottle.com) utilizes a precise proprietary recess molded into the bottle base that enables the empty bottles to firmly connect to each other, and a variety of functional connector pieces, to construct an unlimited number useful household items like tables, desks, toys, storage cubes, trash bins and even building insulation. End users will be encouraged to share their new, inventive re-uses for empties on social media, which will keep even more empty water bottles out of our landfills and waterways.

Currently, empty single-serve water bottles can only be recycled or they end up in the trash. Since empty Eco Connect Bottles can either be re-used or recycled, our communications will also feature strong recycling messaging. The Eco Connect Bottle System supports The Circular Economy and Extended Producer Responsibility.

The concept is the brainchild of Steven Klein, retired educator and founder of the Learning Store Ltd., a small chain of educational toy stores that specialized in playthings for children with disabilities. According to Klein, “The Eco Connect Bottle System will add value to empty water bottles similar to the way the smart phone added value to cell phones. I truly believe this added value will be a determining factor when consumers choose which water brand they are going to purchase. This is a revolutionary concept that can benefit every household, and will be even more valuable in countries that do little or no recycling.”

• The Eco Connect Bottle is the first water bottle that was actually “designed to be repurposed.” Klein created it because water bottles are made from super-strong PET material that can last for hundreds of years, and the vast majority of this perfectly usable material is discarded after just one use.
• The Eco Connect Bottle is potentially the first “non-returnable” water bottle. Every repurposed bottle reduces plastic waste, and saves the cost, energy and pollution associated with recycling.
• The Eco Connect Bottle System has the ability to create jobs as resourceful entrepreneurs in Emerging Nations open small businesses marketing useful items made from repurposed water bottles.

The bottles will be produced for participating water brands through an exclusive relationship with a worldwide leader in PET liquid packaging solutions with 30,000 machines installed in more than 190 countries. They can easily convert their currently operating machines to produce the proprietary Vacuum Seal Base Recess™ for the Eco Connect Bottle System.

The connector pieces will be available online with free two-day shipping, and will be manufactured in the United States by a company with more than 30 years of injection molding experience. An expanding variety of connector pieces, lights, and motors will continue to grow the system, and a percentage of connector piece purchases will be donated to water conservation programs. In addition, for participating water brands with affiliated products, connector pieces could be earned with points by purchasing a water company’s related brands.

All of the pieces are now in place to launch in the U.S. and eventually, around the globe. A sales-building licensing program will be offered to a single water marketer for exclusive use or, alternatively, to several participating brands.

"It is my hope that multiple solutions like light weighting, plant bottles, recycling, repurposing and other revolutionary eco-innovations (still to be developed) will have a collective impact to dramatically reduce the plastic waste problem," says Klein.