100% Bio-Plastic Water Bottles Trickle Into Marketplace

by | Mar 8, 2010

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GreenPlanetbioplasticbottleA new trend emerging in the bottled water market is bio-plastic bottles made 100 percent from plants, as opposed to the mixed composition bottles that came out in recent years. The latest eco-bottles come from Green Planet Bottling and Keystone Water Company.

Green Planet launched a new water brand in a 100-percent plant-based bottle that is toxin-free and carbon neutral, compared to popular plastic bottles containing petroleum and BPA, according to a press release. They are also reusable, recyclable and compostable in 80 days.

The company says for every 72 plant-based bottles produced, they save one gallon of oil. The bottles also use 65 percent less energy and fuel to produce.

As for the water, it is vapor-distilled for purity and when possible sourced within 500 miles of its destination to lower its environmental impact. Green Planet water is currently available in a 16.9 oz. bottle. One liter and 12 oz. bottles will be introduced this spring.

Similarly, Keystone Water Company unveiled its re:newal premium spring water, which features a 100 percent plant-based bottle and label, nationally at the Green Products Expo in New York City.

The bottles are made from Ingeo plant-based plastic from NatureWorks. The plastic, also known as PLA or polylactide, emits fewer greenhouse gases and uses less energy than other plastic bottles, according to Keystone. It’s also recyclable and compostable.

The company just completed a successful pilot across the state of Florida and the Southeast United States, where the water is sourced and bottled. The company attributes part of the success to the state’s voluntary ‘green lodging’ program to help businesses transition to a more eco-efficient model.

Other companies such as Nestle and PepsiCo are also moving toward renewable plastics but aren’t quite there yet. As an example, Nestle announced several goals in 2008 that call for the development of a bottle with up to 25 percent recycled PET by 2013, and bottles made entirely from recycled materials or renewable materials, such as bioplastics, by 2020. Nestle’s re-source natural spring water is packaged in a bottle made from 25 percent recyclable plastic and is 100 percent recyclable.

PepsiCo continues to reduce the amount of plastics used in its beverage bottles. One of the newest is Aquafina’s half-liter Eco-Fina plastic water bottle that is made with 50 percent less plastic. In 2008, Pepsi cut the amount of plastic used in its 500ml non-carbonated beverage bottles by 20 percent.

Coca-Cola last year began testing its plant-based PET bottle earlier this year on the U.S. West Coast, under the Dasani water brand. The bottle is made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and as much as 30 percent plant-based materials in the U.S.

Since then, Coke’s Plant Bottle has been rolled out to other brands.

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