2Sustain

The Coca-Cola Company announced yesterday that it is piloting a new plastic bottle manufactured partially from sugar cane and molasses.

This new “PlantBottle™” is fully recyclable, has a lower reliance on a non-renewable resource, and reduces carbon emissions, compared with petroleum-based PET plastic bottles, according to a press release.

In order to make the PlantBottle, Coca-Cola is using an innovative process that turns sugar cane and molasses into a key component for PET plastic. Traditional PET bottles are made from petroleum. But because of this new process, up to 30% of the PlantBottle is manufactured from plant-based material. Obviously, that reduces the company’s dependence on a non-renewable resource.

A life-cycle analysis shows that the new process can help Coca-Cola make significant improvements to its GHG emissions, as well. Reportedly, PlantBottle manufacture reduces carbon emissions by up to 25%, compared to petroleum-based PET.

And, there’s more. Other plant-based plastics cannot be recycled at existing facilities without contaminating traditional PET. That’s not the case with the PlantBottle. The new bottle, which is due out with Dasani and sparkling brands in select markets later this year and with vitaminwater in 2010, can be used, recycled, and reused again and again.

“The ‘PlantBottle™’ represents the next step in evolving our system toward the bottle of the future,” says Scott Vitters, Director of Sustainable Packaging of The Coca-Cola Company.  ”This innovation is a real win because it moves us closer to our vision of zero waste with a material that lessens our carbon footprint and is also recyclable.”

For more information on sustainable initiatives at Coca-Cola, see earlier posts: Coca-Cola and MSU Team Up For Green Packaging and Coca-Cola Releases Fifth Annual Sustainability Review. It’s great to see that supply chains are being scrutinized in new ways, and it’s particularly exciting to see that green chemistry solutions like this one are surfacing more and more these days.

Note: The logo accompanying this post is used with permission. It’s the ”Give It Back” sustainable packaging logo that Coca-Cola launched last year at the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, where Coca-Cola Recycling served as the official recycling provider.