Pepsi Bottles Go Green with Plant Based Materials

Mar 16, 2011, 07:01

New Pepsi bottles may be the advantage that the beverage company needs to gain an upper hand on rival Coca-Cola. The new bottles, which were discussed by the media on Tuesady, feature 100% non-plastic, plant-based materials. Key ingredients in the new compound are switch grass, pine bark, corn husks, and other materials.

Pepsi says they will also use orange peels, oat hulls, potato scraps, and other by-products from their food business. They add that their new bottle bests the efforts of Coca-Cola, which only uses 30 percent plant-based material in their bottles.

Rocco Papalia, senior vice president of advanced research at Pepsi, adds that the bottle is �indistinguishable� from traditionally-made plastic bottles.

"This is the beginning of the end of petroleum-based plastics," said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council and director of its waste management project. "When you have a company of this size making a commitment to a plant-based plastic, the market is going to respond."

Source: UPI