Beverage company Coca-Cola has revealed 'PlantBottle', its first PET bottle made completely from plant materials. They showcased the new products at the Expo Milano, an annual food technology conference running from May 1 to October 31.
The Polyethylene Terephthalate plastic bottle is made from sugarcane and sugar manufacturing waste. The materials used in creating the PET bottles are alternatives to the usual fossil fuels and non-renewable materials.
The bottles are still plastic but they are recyclable. Compared to the usual material used in making bottles, those used for the PlantBottle have lighter environmental footprint.
In 2009, Coke made an initial move and announced that their containers would be made up of 30% plant material. Since then, the company sold 35 million bottles, and were believed to have reduced the emission of harmful gases in the atmosphere by 315,000 metric tons. One of these harmful gases reduced is carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas.
The multinational company based in Atlanta, Georgia sells more than 1.8 billion drinks per day. This means that the company produces a large volume of plastic waste every day, which is harmful to the environment.
Creating PlantBottles is an excellent move to promote recycling and waste reduction.
Other companies like Pepsi and Carlsberg have also taken similar action. Pepsi is also developing bottles made from plants while Carlsberg is working on a biodegradable cardboard green fiber bottle.
Expo Milano 2015 has become a venue for Coke to exhibit its biobased PlantBottle. The event held at Milan, Italy allows participating countries to showcase their best technology. As stated on its official site, the technology must be able to satisfy the requirement of, "being able to guarantee healthy, safe and sufficient food for everyone, while respecting the Planet and its equilibrium."
This year's event is themed 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.'
