I am researching the life cycle of a water bottle. The main component of a water bottle is plastic, which is derived from petroleum. The most common plastic used in the manufacturing of water bottles is polyethylene terephthalate, or simply PET. PET is a form of polyester that is made by combining ethylene glycol and purified terephthalic acid.
To form a water bottle, new PET flakes are combined with recycled PET flakes. Since the recycled PET does not retain all of the same properties as the new PET, the maximum amount of recycled flakes that are allowed in the mixture is ten percent.
