Beverage containers made from by-products

PepsiCo announced in March a beverage container packaging called the Green bottle to compete with the PlantBottle which was announced by Coca-Cola Company in 2009 and is already in use. Both the bottles are being made from by-products of each company’s food production facilities.

The ‘green’ bottle, a 100% plant-based, renewably sourced PET bottle, is the latest development from PepsiCo. The company says the bottle is made from bio-based raw materials including switch grass, pine bark and corn husks. In the future, it expects to broaden the renewable sources used to create the ‘green’ bottle to include orange peels, oat hulls and other agricultural by-products from its foods business.

Combining biological and chemical processes, PepsiCo has identified methods to create a molecular structure that is identical to petroleum-based PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which results in a bottle that looks, feels and protects its product identically to existing PET beverage containers.

The company will pilot production of the new bottle in 2012. Upon successful completion of the pilot, the company intends to move directly to full-scale commercialisation.

The Coca-Cola Company’s PlantBottle, which is already in use, is made partially from plants. Made rom a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30% plant-based materials, it’s currently made through an innovative process that turns sugar cane and molasses, a by-product of sugar production, into a key component for PET plastic. Coca-Cola is also exploring the use of other plant materials for future generations of the bottle.

A life cycle analysis conducted by Imperial College London indicates the PlantBottle with 30% plant-base material reduces carbon emissions by up to 25%, compared with petroleum-based PET.

Another advantage to the bottle is that, unlike other plant-based plastics, it can be processed through existing manufacturing and recycling facilities without contaminating traditional PET. So, the material in the bottle can be used, recycled and re-used again and again.