PETpla.net Insider 06 / 2012

MATERIAL / RECYCLING 10 PET planet insider Vol. 13 No. 06/12 www.petpla.net Coca-Cola is taking PlantBottle-sized steps with a view to replacing petroleum-based PET containers with bio-based plastic bottles by 2020. This effort to commercialise a plas- tic bottle made entirely from plants builds on the Company’s introduction and roll-out of its first generation PlantBottle package. Since its introduction in 2009, the Company has already distributed more than 10 billion PlantBottle pack- ages in 20 countries worldwide. Coca-Cola will continue to make investments in PlantBottle technology and aims to use PlantBottle packaging for the Company’s entire virgin PET supply by 2020. By the end of last year, agree- ments with Virent, Gevo and Avan- tium – three companies which develop plant-based alternatives to materials traditionally made from fossil fuels and other non-renewable resources - were signed following an in-depth two year analysis of different technologies by the Coca-Cola Company’s R&D team and technical advisory board. supported through strategic investors including Cargill, Shell and Honda. The company’s patented technology will also produce bio-based parax- ylene - a key component needed to deliver 100% plant-based PET packaging.“ PET made from Virent‘s bio-based paraxylene features the same high quality and recyclability as materials used today, with the added benefit of being made from a wide range of renewable materials. The company is targeting early 2015 for the opening of its first full-scale com- mercial plant. Gevo Gevo is converting existing etha- nol plants into biorefineries to make renewable building block products for the chemical and fuel industries. The Company plans to convert renew- able raw materials into isobutanol and renewable hydrocarbons that can Coca-Cola’s commercial solutions for bio-based plastic bottles Biobased polyester – the next generation Virent Virent’s patented technology fea- tures catalytic chemistry to convert plant-based sugars into a full range of products identical to those made from petroleum, including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and chemicals for plastics and fibres. The development of Virent‘s BioForming technology platform is Earlier in 2011, Coca-Cola announced a partnership with H.J. Heinz Company that allows production of ketchup bottles using PlantBottle technology. The new packaging was launched in summer 2011 in the USA.