PET made entirely from plant material

Last week at the World Expo in Milan, The Coca-Cola Company unveiled a PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant materials. Functioning like traditional PET, the PlantBottleT packaging is a fully recyclable plastic bottle made from renewable plant materials. It uses a patented technology that converts natural sugars found in plants into the ingredients for making PET plastic bottles.

Nancy Quan, Global Research and Development Officer, The Coca-Cola Company, said, "Today is a pioneering milestone within our company's packaging portfolio. Our vision was to maximise game-changing technology, using responsibly sourced plant-based materials to create the globe's first fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made entirely from renewable materials. We are delighted to unveil the first bottles here at World Expo - a world-class exhibition where sustainable innovation is celebrated."

The packaging can be used for a variety of packaging sizes and across water, sparkling, juice and tea beverage brands. Today, the company uses sugarcane and waste from the sugarcane manufacturing process to create PlantBottle packaging. Both materials meet the company's established sustainability criteria used to identify plant-based ingredients for PlantBottle material. These guiding principles include demonstrating improved environmental and social performance as well as avoiding negative impacts on food security.

Since the 2009 launch, The Coca-Cola Company has distributed more than 35 billion bottles in nearly 40 countries using its current version of PlantBottle packaging, which is made from up to 30% plant-based materials.