MORE COMPANIES LIKE COCA-COLA WILL SWITCH TO PLANT-BASED BOTTLES TO SAVE THE EARTH

Pollution has become a huge problem around the world. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration explained that scientists estimated that about eight million metric tons of plastic, which approximately weighs the same as 90 aircraft carriers, finds its way into the oceans every year. 

The Paper Bottle Company (Paboco) has a goal to help manufacturers and distributors reduce their single-use plastic waste. In order to tackle this problem, Paboco created bottles made from degradable plant sugars rather than fossil fuels. 

In 2013, a paper packaging developer, BillerudKorsnäs, started this initiative. Since then the company has been joined by research companies and industry leaders like Avantium and ALPLA to also help the fight in pollution. In October 2019, the project proudly announced that Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, and Absolut had joined their efforts.

The historic brewery, Carlsberg, has been a proud partner of the Paper Bottle Project for a long time and explained in a press release, “We are working on developing the world’s first ‘paper’ beer bottle made from sustainably-sourced wood fibers that is both 100% bio-based and fully recyclable.” 

The brewing company unveiled its first paper bottle, made out of a plant-based polymer called “PEF,” for their Pilsner beer as proof of concept on their social media sites. Unlike their plastic siblings, these paper bottles are expected to be fully recyclable and to naturally degrade within a year. 

Paboco Technical Director Christina Carlsen explained that, “Being part of this journey from the beginning, inventing the technology and building the first machine for the paper bottle with my bare hands is my chance to make a difference. A difference towards a sustainable world for future generations. What we are doing is not just a new bottle, we are making a difference.”

The new push to eliminate single-use plastics came from last years  project to reduce the use of plastic straw in many countries and corporations around the world. More and more countries are trying their best to fight the use of plastic by switching to more friendly products. One of the initiatives are China’s plan to ban plastic bags in all of its major cities by the end of 2020. 

Through these projects and initiatives we can clearly see that the global community is taking responsibility for the growing environmental waste problem and to make earth a clean and healthy place for all.  The sustainability company which creates these bottles hopes to have them ready for consumer use by 2023.