The future of packaging: Green light for plant bottles

the-future-of-packaging-green-light-for-plant-bottlesCoca-Cola and PepsiCo are epic competitors, not only in the business of sipping but even when it comes to being eco-friendly. Will green bottles be on store shelves soon? They will if either of these beverage giants have anything to do with it. I recently read, <a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/16/business/energy-environment/coca-cola-and-pepsico-race-for-greener-bottles.html?_r=2&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha25>The Race to Greener Bottles Could Be Long,</a> a New York Times article written by William Neuman. The story details the competitive quest of the beverage rivals to be the first to commercially package in 100% plant-based plastic bottles. Though Coke and Pepsi are optimistic and eager to market these green bottles, Neuman and spokespeople from both companies say it won't happen overnight. Bottles of today Bottles are a bit more complex than you might think. Let's break down a bottle's components and the potential challenges plant bottle materials could have when striving to mimic petroleum-based plastics. Because like it or not, making bottles from corn kernels and banana peels is harder than it sounds. The article mentions that most beverage bottles are made from PET (hey, we carry <a href=https://www.containerandpackaging.com/catalog/plastic-bottles/7/?m=PET>PET </a>too, imagine that!), which isn't exactly a news flash since most of us have known that for a while. What is fascinating is that according to Neuman, PET consists of two ingredients, MEG (Monoethylene Glycol, a colorless and odorless alcohol) and PTA (Purified terephthalic acid, a white crystalline powder). MEG is said to account for 30% of a PET bottle's form, while PTA makes up the other 70%. Bottles of tomorrow In 2009, Coca-Cola started packaging their Dasani products in bottles made from up to 30% of plant material, sugarcane to be exact. The company set a goal at that time to have all Coca-Cola plastic bottles meet the 30% plant material minimum by 2020. Does 30% seem like a peculiar percentage to you yet? As you may have guessed, the 30% of plant material in Dasani bottles replaced the MEG factor that is typically found in PET. The plant equivalent of PTA has also been produced in lab facilities, but is not expected to transition into mass production quite as smoothly as the sugar cane-based MEG. If you were able to read through all the percentages and acronyms you likely understand that producing plant bottles is a tedious task. The article reports that the process of creating plastic bottles from plant material versus traditional manufacturing results in smaller amounts of greenhouse gases, so that's a big plus. Not to mention the idea that using waste products, such as corn stalks is argued to be more beneficial for plant-plastic production than cultivating plants for the sole use of producing plastic bottles. From now to then: How bottles will go green Plant bottles are a work in progress and the first steps have already been taken. Neuman reveals that PepsiCo is set to run a production test of 200,000 plant bottles sometime this year. This run-through will serve as an extremely helpful case study, offering insights into the costs and most effective manufacturing settings for the creation of all plant, green plastic bottles. Pepsi cannot set plans to move the project to a full scale production until they have analyzed the process through the study. A bottle tale All in all, many people are pulling for plant bottles. This story could be renamed, The Little Green Bottle That Could. With consumer support, science and an industry competition on its side, we're sure to see the little green bottle make its way over the hill in time. Are green bottles worth all the time and resources being used to create them? Or should they be an even higher priority? Sound off on the pros and cons of green bottles in the comments!