http://www.neo-planete.com/2011/04/04/b ... a-realite/
Producing PET bottles from plants seems to be the ideal solution so that we no longer have to use non-renewable resources. However, some points are debated: do these materials ensure a sufficient level of quality and product safety? What are their environmental impacts in terms of water or energy use? In the context of the global food crisis, should agricultural land be used for other purposes than the production of food? Anyway, more and more companies are engaging in bioplastics, especially in the drinks department.
Brita, filtered water to take away in a 100% vegetable bottle
A world first! Brita, the company of filter jugs of tap water, has joined forces with Vegetal & Mineral Water, specialist in the manufacture of vegetable bottles, to create the bottle of 100% vegetable origin without GMOs. The goal ? Carry its filtered water. This PLA (Polylactic Acid) bottle is made entirely from carbohydrate plants (such as sugar beet, sugar cane or corn). Resulting from the fermentation of sucrose or glucose, PLA has the same properties as traditional plastic (PET type) except that it is recyclable by composting, recoverable by depolymerization (treatment to return to the initial lactic acid) or biodegradable. Whatever its end of life, the bottle therefore has a limited impact on the environment and spares fossil resources! Only 40 bottles are placed on the market free of charge in a Brita pack, the objective being to familiarize the public and manufacturers with this new material.
Small flat: It is not recommended to expose the bottle to the sun or heat. Bottled water must be consumed within 48 hours.
PlantBottle, 30% plant-based materials for Coca & Heinz products
The PlantBottle launched by Coca-Cola in 2009 is a bottle made of 30% plant-based materials (sugar cane and molasses). Since 2009, The Coca Cola Company markets Coca Cola, Sprite, Fresca, iLOHAS, Sokenbicha and Dasani water in this bottle available in nine countries around the world (Canada, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Japan , Denmark, Sweden, Norway, United States). In 2011, a dozen other countries should receive the bottle, including France. But PlantBottle will not only be found in drinks. From the second half of 2011, Heinz will market part of its ketchup in the PlantBottle. This year, Heinz plans to put 120 million bottles on the market, but intends to generalize the packaging to its entire range. This partnership will enable the Heinz group, which has already launched organic ketchup labeled AB in 2009, to achieve its objective: to reduce its CO20 emissions, waste and energy by 2% by 2020.
Volvic, 20% of vegetable origin, a part of recycled plastic and a light weight
BioPET is a plastic of partially vegetable origin, composed of 70% terephthalic acid (PTA) and 30% monoethylene glycol (MEG), a material based on plants. This new plastic is produced in part from fermented molasses (sugar cane residue) which becomes ethanol. A chemical process transforms it into ethylene glycol (one of the two components of PET) and Futura, producer of BioPET, then associates ethylene with the second molecule of PET (terephthalic acid). The molecule from plants thus replaces one of the molecules of PET, but its final chemical composition is exactly the same. The quality of the bottle therefore remains unchanged and this vegetable plastic is still 100% recyclable. Available since 2010 in 50 cl formats, these bottles were the first bioplastics launched in France. The bottle's carbon footprint has been reduced by 35 to 40% compared to a standard Volvic 50 cl.
Earth Water Enso, degradation by a natural microbiological digestion process
Earth Water, an NGO created in 2004 in Canada, created the 100% biodegradable bottle. Enso from Resilux is degraded by a natural microbiological digestion process. After use, when it is in an aerobic and / or anaerobic environment (no oxygen, no light), the bottle degrades into biogas (methane) and biomass (humus). Approved for packaging beverages, it remains similar to normal PET and can be recycled in the same way. If traditional plastic bottles take more than 100 years to degrade, Enso disappears in 1 to 5 years!
PepsiCo, soon the panic bottle
The American group Pepsico is following its competitors Coca-Cola and Danone and is preparing to launch a “100% renewable” bioplastic bottle. Initially, this bottle will be made up of switchgrass (a grass widely used in America), conifer bark and corn husks. But the company intends to make it evolve. "In the future, the group plans (...) to include orange peels, potato peels, oat husks and other agricultural products derived from its agrifood activities," said a press release. Despite its bad experience with crisps in recyclable packaging deemed too noisy by consumers, PepsiCo retries its luck. Manufacturing is to be launched on a large scale in 2012.
