Some things go together. Like cookies and milk, bottles and lids, crayons and paper. Other entities exist as enemies, oil and water, lions and gazelles, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. This competitive refreshment duo has a new task at hand: the elusive green bottle, made from only plant material.
"The Race to Greener Bottles Could Be Long," an article written by William Neuman that recently appeared in the New York Times explains the current mood within the beverage industry. Coke and Pepsi aren't just after great flavors, but great packaging too, in green, eco-friendly bottles.
The task of creating a new class of plastic bottles might not sound like a heavy job, if you're not an expert at bottles. Then again, just imagine sitting on a farm and being asked to build a plastic bottle out of the plant resources that surround you. Not so easy anymore, right? Read on to learn about the components that make up plastic bottles and their plant-based counter parts.
You come in contact with PET several times a day, whether you realize it or not. It's in plastic syrup bottles that are used on Saturday morning pancakes and it's in the beverage bottles we all love to sip from on hot summer days. Yet, there's a bit more to a PET bottle than what meets the eye. Take the raw materials, Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) and Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) for example. The alcohol MEG makes up 30% of a PET bottle's presentation. The other 70% is made possible thanks to PTA.
Coca-Cola took a big leap a few years ago when they began packaging Dasani in bottles made from 30% plant-based bottles. Coke aimed to be packaging all of their bottled products in these 30% plant bottles by 2020. Based on percentages you can probably tell that the plant material included in the Dasani bottle replaced MEG in typical PET bottles. The plant-based PTA component for all-green bottles is still in the research phase.
Neuman explains that the production of green plastic bottles is said to be more eco-friendly than run-of-the-mill oil-based products, given that it doesn't cause as many greenhouse gases. If that's not a big enough selling point ongoing research also demonstrates that plant waste may serve as better material for creating plastic bottles over plants cultivated to be used for producing bottles.
So, maybe plant bottles aren't ready to hit the shelves just yet, but they will be there before you know it. 2012 aims to be a big year for the continued evolution of green plastic bottles, as PepsiCo prepares to run a production test of 200,000 green bottles soon. The results from this study will inform beverage industry leaders and all of us that love bottles just how costly and effectively these bottles can be manufactured.
What's that old adage? Ah, yes, "all good things come to those that wait". This statement couldn't be truer for this scenario. 100% plant bottles may not be available to consumers at this juncture in time, but research, a competitive spirit and passion will keep the flame alive until the bottles finally make their big debut.
"The Race to Greener Bottles Could Be Long," an article written by William Neuman that recently appeared in the New York Times explains the current mood within the beverage industry. Coke and Pepsi aren't just after great flavors, but great packaging too, in green, eco-friendly bottles.
The task of creating a new class of plastic bottles might not sound like a heavy job, if you're not an expert at bottles. Then again, just imagine sitting on a farm and being asked to build a plastic bottle out of the plant resources that surround you. Not so easy anymore, right? Read on to learn about the components that make up plastic bottles and their plant-based counter parts.
You come in contact with PET several times a day, whether you realize it or not. It's in plastic syrup bottles that are used on Saturday morning pancakes and it's in the beverage bottles we all love to sip from on hot summer days. Yet, there's a bit more to a PET bottle than what meets the eye. Take the raw materials, Monoethylene Glycol (MEG) and Purified terephthalic acid (PTA) for example. The alcohol MEG makes up 30% of a PET bottle's presentation. The other 70% is made possible thanks to PTA.
Coca-Cola took a big leap a few years ago when they began packaging Dasani in bottles made from 30% plant-based bottles. Coke aimed to be packaging all of their bottled products in these 30% plant bottles by 2020. Based on percentages you can probably tell that the plant material included in the Dasani bottle replaced MEG in typical PET bottles. The plant-based PTA component for all-green bottles is still in the research phase.
Neuman explains that the production of green plastic bottles is said to be more eco-friendly than run-of-the-mill oil-based products, given that it doesn't cause as many greenhouse gases. If that's not a big enough selling point ongoing research also demonstrates that plant waste may serve as better material for creating plastic bottles over plants cultivated to be used for producing bottles.
So, maybe plant bottles aren't ready to hit the shelves just yet, but they will be there before you know it. 2012 aims to be a big year for the continued evolution of green plastic bottles, as PepsiCo prepares to run a production test of 200,000 green bottles soon. The results from this study will inform beverage industry leaders and all of us that love bottles just how costly and effectively these bottles can be manufactured.
What's that old adage? Ah, yes, "all good things come to those that wait". This statement couldn't be truer for this scenario. 100% plant bottles may not be available to consumers at this juncture in time, but research, a competitive spirit and passion will keep the flame alive until the bottles finally make their big debut.
About the Author:
Will eco-friendly plastic bottles make their debut on shelves soon? Read Kayla Holman's article and get the scoop on plant bottles.
No comments:
Post a Comment