Coca Cola Co. Shows Off Bottles Made from Plant Material
In an effort to reduce their impact on the environment, Coca Cola Co. just announced their first PET plastic bottle. It is made entirely from plant materials. Through patented technology, Coca Cola Co. converts the natural sugars in plants into the material used to make these PET bottles. The great thing is that the PET bottles look and feel almost exactly like the bottles consumers have come to expect, but they are more environmentally friendly.
At the World Expo in Milan, Italy, Global Research and Development Officer Nancy Quan said, “Today is a pioneering milestone within our company’s portfolio. Our vision was to maximize game-changing technology, using responsibly sourced plant-based materials to create the globe’s first fully recyclable PET plastic bottle.” Coca Cola Co. was very excited about this reveal.
Coca Cola Co. distributes more than 35 million bottles across the world each year. Their beverages range from the Classic Coca-Cola to Fanta, Fuze, Minute Maid, and more. You can see why these PET bottles will help save the environment. Coca Cola Co. hopes that other beverage companies will follow suit with research and development of their own to lessen their impact on the environment. There was a movement a couple of years ago where all twist bottle caps were shortened to save plastic. Most beverage companies took on the same caps.
PET plastic is made mostly from sugarcane and sugarcane waste. It has all sorts of uses beyond PET bottles, though. Coca Cola Co. said that it could be used in their packaging in the future. New research is still required before this will happen. One benefit to PET plastic is that it does not take an expensive process to convert the sugarcane into the plastic materials. Not only is it better for the environment, it will help Coca Cola Co.’s supply chain costs.
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