Water, CSD, juice. PET dominates in Europe with rPET inclusion rising under PPWR. HDPE for dairy and small-volume dosing.
European still and sparkling water bottles are made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate). PET is light, transparent, mechanically strong enough for thin-wall blow-moulded bottles, and recyclable through deposit-and-return schemes. From 2025, all PET beverage bottles sold in the EU must contain at least 25% recycled content, rising to 30% in 2030 under PPWR.
Yes. PET is approved for direct food and beverage contact under EU 10/2011 and FDA 21 CFR 177.1630. It does not contain BPA. Acetaldehyde levels in modern bottle-grade PET are below the threshold that would affect water taste — typically under 6 μg/kg in finished bottles. PET is the most widely used plastic for beverage packaging globally.
Most European milk and dairy bottles are extrusion blow-moulded HDPE (high-density polyethylene), typically pigmented white with TiO₂ to protect light-sensitive vitamins. HDPE is food-contact compliant, robust through cold-chain handling, and recyclable into dairy-bottle-to-dairy-bottle closed loops in countries with deposit-and-return infrastructure.
Coloured PET (green for sparkling water, blue for some still waters) uses pigments added at the resin or master-batch stage. Coloured PET is recyclable but sorts into a separate recyclate stream that commands a lower price than clear PET. Several major brands have moved to clear PET to maximise rPET recovery and meet recycled-content targets.