Coca-Cola aiming for plastic bottles made entirely from plants

The Coca-Cola Company has announced multi-million dollar partnership agreements with three biotechnology companies - Virent, Gevo and Avantium -  to accelerate development of commercial solutions for packaging made 100 percent from plant-based materials. Coca-Cola already produces a fully recyclable HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic that is 100 percent plant-based. But, HDPE is only suitable for some refrigerated juice products, not for shelf-stable carbonated and still beverages. So, most Coca-Cola beverages are distributed in the company’s PlantBottle™ packaging, which is fully recyclable, but made of only 30 percent plant-based material.  The company is targeting early 2015 for the opening of its first full-scale commercial plant producing new 100 percent plant-based plastic bottles.

 

SOURCE: Coca-Cola Press Release