Coca-Cola’s new PlantBottle packaging hits shelves

Dasani and Odwalla are the first beverage brands in Canada with packaging made from PlantBottle packaging—what Coca-Cola Canada calls the first-ever fully recyclable plastic beverage bottle produced using plants.

Odwalla packages are made from up to 100% plant-based materials with high-density polyethylene plastic (HDPE), while PET bottles for Dasani single-serve bottles are made with up to 30% plant-based materials.

“It’s our goal to make traditional plastic bottles a thing of the past and ensure that every beverage we produce is available in 100% plant-based, fully recyclable packaging,” said Scott Vitters, general manager, PlantBottle Packaging Platform, The Coca-Cola Company. “The national launch of Dasani PlantBottle packaging represents an important step towards reducing our carbon footprint, and the up to 100% plant-based, recyclable packaging used for Odwalla is the first of its kind in the beverage industry.”

Traditional PET bottles are made from petroleum and other nonrenewable fossil fuels. The plant-based materials for both Dasani and Odwalla PlantBottle packaging are produced through a process that turns sugarcane into a key component for PET and HDPE plastic.

Unlike other plant-based plastics, PlantBottle packaging is entirely recyclable and can be processed through existing systems, ensuring that it can be repeatedly used, recycled and reused.

PlantBottle first launched in Canada in 2009 as part of The Coca-Cola Company’s sustainability plan for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

Currently, The Coca-Cola Company is working to further technology so other plant materials can be used in future PlantBottle packaging.

The technology used to make PlantBottle packaging has already been adopted by Heinz, which recently announced it would begin packaging its ketchup using that technology under license from the Coca-Cola Company beginning this summer in the U.S.