Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are epic competitors, not only in the business of sipping but even when it comes to being eco-friendly. Will green bottles be on store shelves soon? They will if either of these beverage giants have anything to do with it.
"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.
Bottles of today. Bottles are a bit more complex than you might think. Let's break down a bottle's components and the potential challenges plant bottle materials could have when striving to mimic petroleum-based plastics. Because like it or not, making bottles from corn kernels and banana peels is harder than it sounds.
The article mentions that most beverage bottles are made from PET (hey, we carry PET too, imagine that!), which isn't exactly a news flash since most of us have known that for a while. What is fascinating is that according to Neuman, PET consists of two ingredients, MEG (Monoethylene Glycol, a colorless and odorless alcohol) and PTA (Purified terephthalic acid). MEG is said to account for 30% of a PET bottle's form, while PTA makes up the other 70%.
Coca-Cola moved closer to achieving their dream of creating green bottles in 2009. At that time they started selling Dasani in bottles made from up to 30% plant material. This plant material took the place of MEG, used in petroleum-based PET. A plant-based PTA is still needed to create a 100% green bottle.
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.
We don't have the formula for green bottles figured out just yet. But PepsiCo has plans to take care of that later this year. The company is planning a production run-through, shooting to manufacture 200,000 green bottles. The success or failure of this experiment will speak volumes regarding the cost and manufacturing functionality of green bottles.
When it comes to green bottles, the future looks bright. With continued research, manufacturing tests and a fiery competition between beverage enemies, they are bound to make an appearance soon. Until then, just keep dreaming of that 100% green day.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/drinks-articles/green-light-for-plant-bottles-5585872.html
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Will eco-friendly plastic bottles make their debut on shelves soon? Read Kayla Holman's post and get the scoop on plant bottles.
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