Coca-Cola Japan to Introduce Sugarcane-based PET Bottles for Its Beverages

Coca-Cola Japan announced on December 17, 2009, that it would introduce　a domestically produced "PlantBottle," a plant-based PET plastic bottle, from　March 2010. The bottle will be made partially from plant material will have a lower reliance on petroleum, a non-renewable resource. Moreover, it is 100 percent recyclable at existing recycling facilities for conventional plastic bottles.

The "PlantBottle" is to be made through a process that turns molasses, a by-product of sugar production from sugarcane, into a component for PET plastic, and the molasses will comprise up to 30 percent of the bottle material. Its shape, weight, and durability will be the same as conventional PET bottles.

Using the "PlantBottle" for three of Coca-Cola's products in Japan is expected to reduce crude oil usage by 2,045 kiloliters per year, or the equivalent of 499 kiloliters of gasoline. With this amount of gas, a car with gas mileage of 10 kilometers per liter could drive around the globe 125 times.

The "PlantBottle" has been introduced in countries throughout the world. At present, it is used in Denmark, western Canada, and several cities in the western United States. In 2010, it is scheduled to be launched in Brazil, Mexico, and also for China's Shanghai Expo.

Coca-Cola Japan Using Recycled PET in Labels (Related JFS article)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/pages/026038.html

Posted: 2010/03/24 06:00:15 AM