Better packaging. Better products.

We're developing technologies that bring us closer to our vision of zero waste. Made with up to 30% plant-based material, PlantBottle™ packaging may be our most exciting package evolution yet! The Coca-Cola Company has worked with our partners to develop a process for making plastic bottles that contain a blend of traditional material and up to 30% plant-based material. Today, the plant-based material is made from sugar cane and molasses, a by-product of sugar cane processing.

The PlantBottle™ packaging turns these renewable resources into a key ingredient for plastic. They are renewable because their use can be offset by growing next year's sugar cane crop. It offers the same durability and shelf life as regular plastic, and remains 100% recyclable.

PlantBottle™ packaging can be recycled along with other plastic bottles.

When it comes to sourcing the plant-based materials for PlantBottle™ packaging, we are committed to sourcing from non-food producing, best-in-class, sustainable sugar growers. The sugar cane and molasses currently used in our PlantBottle™ plastic packaging comes from Brazil, where it is primarily rain-fed and grown on abundant arable land. We recognize the importance of sustainable agriculture, and we are working with a number of organizations to help implement sustainable farming practices in various parts of the world.

For example, we are working with our partners at WWF (World Wildlife Fund / World Wide Fund for Nature) on the Better Sugarcane Initiative, which promotes improvements in the key environmental and social impacts of sugarcane production and primary processing. We also joined the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative, a food industry group that engages stakeholders along the agricultural supply chain to share knowledge and support the development and implementation of internationally-accepted standards for sustainable agriculture. And we are working with Business for Social Responsibility to explore ways to improve agricultural water-management practices in sugar cane production in India.

Long term, we are working with our partners to advance technologies to allow us to use other plant materials for future generations of the PlantBottle™ or other plastic packaging. Other potential raw materials, which would have multiple sources across various geographies, could include wood chips, corn stover or wheat stalks.

Our long-term vision is to eventually bring to market plastic bottles that are made with 100% renewable raw materials and that are fully recyclable, just like existing plastic bottles are. Ultimately, our goal is to develop recyclable plastic bottles made from 100% plant-based waste -- turning waste into a resource.

Frequently asked questions

Watch this video to learn about our PlantBottle packaging.

By the end of 2010, the transition to PlantBottle packaging will have saved about 87,000 barrels of oil, or over 19 million litres of gasoline globally.