PETpla.net Insider 10 / 2010

NEWS 9 PET planet insider Vol. 11 No. 10/10 www.petpla.net Growing their own PET bottles Coca-Cola Co has launched a new bottle that is designed to be more recyclable than con- ventional PET packaging. The company’s ‘PlantBottle’ con- tains up to 30% plant content, in the form of monoethylene glycol (MEG) derived from sugar cane and molasses. Coca-Cola says that light weighting of PET bottles, of itself, is insufficient to address concerns over the environmental sustainability of branded packaging. Bottles have to have a certain minimum weight in order to maintain their shape; the PlantBottle concept is intended to address entire lifecy- cle issues, especially end-of-life recycling. It has been deliber- ately designed to be 100% recy- clable, rather than biodegrada- ble. The company is researching ways to use plant waste in PET production, which could lead to bottles made entirely of such material. Coke considered sev- eral options, including polylactic acid (PLA), before opting for plant-based MEG. While it feels that PLA is suitable for some packaging solutions, it decided that it was not appropriate for its purposes. The renewable PET used in the PlantBottle is sourced from an Asian supplier. PlantBottle debuted in late 2009 and is currently available on the West Coast of the USA and in Denmark, where it is used for Dasani-brand water. It was also featured at the Vancouver Winter Olympics. www.thecoca-colacompany.com IBWA recycling initiative in USA The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) Board of Directors has endorsed a framework for a Material Recovery Program that it hopes will serve as the blueprint for local com- munities to increase community-based recycling in the USA. The organisation says that the initiative will “…assist in the development of new, comprehensive solutions to help manage solid waste in communities in the United States by having all consumer product companies work together with state and local governments to improve recycling and waste collection efforts,” according to Joseph K. Doss, IBWA President and CEO. The IBWA framework supports state-authorized public or private corporations that establish specific recycling goals in each community that are intended to increase recycling access and rates. It also supports schemes that generate revenues for grants from company producer fees as well as local and state government contributions; and that fund local government recycling infrastructure improvements and consumer education programs. It envisages such schemes dissolving when local recycling goals have been met. IBWA has said that it believes that increasing the recycling rates for all consumer products and packaging should be a top prior- ity for all companies whose product or packaging is ultimately discarded. Its stated position is that locally run recycling pro- grams are the most effective method of diverting solid waste from landfills and increasing recycling of consumer products and packaging. Founded in 1958, IBWA’s membership includes U.S. and international bottlers, distributors and suppliers. www.bottledwater.org