Following up on yesterday’s mention of the advances by Coca-Cola in Japan, a recent New York Times article describes the latest efforts by both Coke and Pepsi to use 100% plant based bottles. In reading Bottlemania by Elizabeth Royte (the book review is coming soon, I am almost finished), the battle over which beverage company has the more eco-friendly packaging has been raging for some time. Back in the mid-2000s, Coke and Pepsi were competing to include a greater percentage of recycled content into their bottles. While a bit dated, Royte cites data that as of 2005, Pepsi had achieved 10% recycled content and Coke a mere 3.8% in 2006. Coke had initially pledged 10% by 2005, but had backed off the commitment.
The New York Times article mentioned that Coca-Cola “plans to work with three companies that are developing competing technologies to make plastic from plants, with bottles rolling out to consumers in perhaps a few years.” As with the recycled content competition, the race to manufacture a plant-based bottle involves Pepsi as well. According to the article, the company also announced “it was on schedule to conduct a test next year that involved producing 200,000 bottles made from plant-only plastic”
Unless the plant-based bottle is cost-effective, there will be no time table for the full scale deployment. Companies have reduced their plastic usage in bottles by reducing the amount of raw materials needed. Royte mentions that Dasani, Coke’s brand of bottled water, reduced the amount of plastic needed from 18.2 to 13.8 grams per bottle. Other bottlers use even less, like Nestle – at 12.5 grams. Many of the bottles on the market are noticeably lighter in weight and less “sturdy” than earlier renditions of the PET (polyethlene terephthalate) bottles.
Unfortunately, plant based bottles miss the mark. Without higher rates of recycling (and lower consumption), plant-based plastic bottles only trade one problem for another. As Royte discusses, there are issues with recycling plant-based plastics. She writes “Recyclers don’t like corn plastic . . . it doesn’t mix well with the conventional stuff” (p. 163). Additionally, it depends on what plants are used. Is there competition with food by using corn or soy? A sustainable plant bottle will need to come from a resource that does not cause food shortages or squeeze out crops because they are grown on agricultural land.
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