Old milk bottle lids are being transformed into souvenirs by Australian social enterprise E3 Products, with the mission of diverting small plastic items from landfill and marine environments.
The Torquay-based business has partnered with Sea Life and will supply 28,000 recycled-plastic keyrings and bag tags to aquariums and marine sanctuaries worldwide.
The company has been operating for more than 20 years, supplying souvenirs to Australian tourism and cultural destinations, including Zoos Victoria, Ballarat Wildlife Park, the Parliament Shop in Canberra and retail outlets at Sydney Airport.
Through the Sea Life partnership, the company’s recycled PET (rPET) products will be sold across a network of around 50 aquariums that collectively welcome millions of visitors each year.
E3 founder Carlo Lowdon said the collaboration allows the business to scale its recycling initiatives beyond Australia.
“We started as a small family business on the Great Ocean Road, creating souvenirs for tourism destinations,” Lowdon said. “This partnership enables us to do that on a global stage.”
The plastic used in the souvenirs is collected through the Lids4Kids program, which involves schools and community volunteers. The collected material is processed into products that can be recycled again at the end of their life.
