Coca-Cola Backing Project Developing Plant-Based Bottle That Degrades In One Year
Coca-Cola could be eyeing a switch to plant-based containers if reports about their recent investments are any indication.
Per The Guardian, the soft-drink giant is one of the backers of a new project from Avantium, a Netherlands-based renewable chemicals company that created “a cardboard bottle lined with an inner layer of plant plastic.”
Avantium’s chief executive Tom van Aken said, “This plastic has very attractive sustainability credentials because it uses no fossil fuels, and can be recycled – but would also degrade in nature much faster than normal plastics do…Avantium’s plant plastic is designed to be resilient enough to contain carbonate drinks. Trials have shown that the plant plastic would decompose in one year using a composter, and a few years longer if left in normal outdoor conditions. But ideally, it should be recycled.”
Danish beer producer Carlsberg has already joined the project, and if adopted by more companies, these bottles could start appearing in stores by 2023.
