Is Coke’s plant-based bottle going to reduce plastic waste?
Coke developed in 2009 a recyclable plastic bottle made partially (up to 30%) from plants, called PlantBottle. In 2015, Coke unveiled the world’s first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant materials.
Bioplastic is being used for 8% of Coke’s packaging volume globally as the company aims to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
Since its launch of the PlantBottle, Coke distributed more than 35 billion bottles in 40 countries using the bioplastic packaging. It estimated that the PlantBottle saved an equivalent of more than 315,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to taking about 67,500 cars off the road in 1 year.
Although it is now replacing petroleum in the plastic industry, the questions remains: will the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of using plants to create plastic?
Using plants for plastic bottles instead for food creates several food security issues. Harvesting plants requires use of water, energy, land, pesticides, and fertilizers. The scale required to produce the demand for plant-based plastic bottles may affect biodiversity as well as the people who live on the agricultural lands.
Long-term goal of these big companies? Use plant waste instead to create plastic bottles.
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