Which Plastic Is Good For Water Bottles?

In hot summer, whether it is outdoors or at home, a lightweight plastic sports water bottle is more popular with consumers. So there’s no wonder that they’re such big business in the water bottle market. Most sports water bottles are made of plastic. Compared with other materials, plastic products have the advantages of low cost and strong plasticity. Due to the strong market demand, plastic has become the second-largest material for water bottles in our factory. Plastics have different properties and are therefore also used to make different types of sports water bottles.  This article will introduce the characteristics of several plastic materials commonly used in our factory in detail.

1. PP (Polypropylene)

PP is food-grade plastic, BPA-free, and FDA/LFGB tested. High impact resistance, temperature resistance up to 100°C, dishwasher and microwave oven safe. But it is restricted in some countries that ban plastic. Compared with other plastic, PP products have poor permeability, and the surface will have a matte feeling. Therefore, its price is also relatively low than others. It can be used to make sports bottles, plastic coffee tumblers, lunch boxes, injection-molded lids, accessories, etc.

2. Tritan

Tritan is BPA-free and FDA/LFGB tested. It is the safest and healthiest plastic material at present, and it is also the designated material for baby bottles in Europe and America. It is the most used material in the BPA-free bottles exported by our company, and the price is also the most expensive among plastic materials. It is easy to process and can be processed by various methods such as injection molding, blow molding, injection stretch blowing, etc. Generally speaking, molds that can be normally produced with PC can be produced with Tritan without modification. Tritan material is widely used in various space cups, sports bottles, children’s bottles, coffee bottles, transparent accessories, etc.

3. SK

Both Tritan and SK are made of high-temperature-resistant plastic with high safety. Its overall performance is close to Tritan, and its price is lower than Tritan. It is often used in low-end temperature-resistant plastic bottles. The highest standard SK material can also pass the FDA/LFGB test, with a temperature resistance of 100°C.

4. Petg (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol)

PETG is a low-temperature material. Obviously, PETG is not heat-resistant, and the heat distortion temperature is 65-70 °C. PETG has the same permeability as Tritan and is often used in sports water bottles for cold water. Due to the extrusion blow molding process, the thickness of this bottle will be relatively thin, about 0.5mm (the thickness of conventional sports bottles is about 1.2-1.5mm), so the resistance to falling is poor.

5. AS

AS is a medium-grade material, and the unit price of the material is low. It has excellent light transmittance and blue background, but its impact resistance is poor and easy to scratch. And can not withstand high temperatures, the maximum temperature resistance is 80℃. AS material is often used in single/double-layer straw cups, coffee cups, cold drink cups, tea infusers, accessories, etc.

The following table lists 9 common plastic materials and compares them in terms of appearance, drop resistance, heat resistance, and safety and so on.

Conclusion: Tritan is the first choice for plastic bottles, especially children’s water bottles must be made of tritan to ensure that they have passed various American and European standards. The lids and plastic tumblers are mainly made of PP material. Moreover, the seasonal cold drink bottles are generally made of AS material, and the popular motivational gallon bottles in recent years are usually made of PETG.