Coca-Cola and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment expect SeaWorld’s switch to PlantBottle plastic in its refillable cups to remove 35 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually, the companies say.
The recyclable cup, using Coke’s sustainable packaging technology, is now available in all SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks across the US.
PlantBottle packaging swaps traditional plastic resins with natural sugars found in plants. Fewer fossil-based ingredients mean a smaller carbon footprint.
Using PlantBottle technology, SeaWorld has created the first commercially available consumer product: a refillable plastic cup.
Since Coca-Cola introduced PlantBottle technology in 2009 as the first recyclable PET plastic bottle made partially from plants, more than 450,000 barrels of oil have been saved. And, more than 20 billion PlantBottle packages have been distributed in 31 countries worldwide.
SeaWorld eventually plans to use PlantBottle technology in the manufacture of many of its souvenir cups and says it’s exploring opportunities for its potential use in the development of other merchandise.
SeaWorld and Coca-Cola have also partnered on two other initiatives that promote conservation and sustainability:
- In 2013 SeaWorld introduced the Cup That Cares, a reusable cup with an embedded RFID chip that interacts with Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers in the theme parks and calculates the amount of carbon guests keep from the environment by refilling their cups.
- All fountain drinks are served in paper cups made from 85 percent renewable resources. Some 14.6 million paper cups are used each year throughout the company’s 11 theme parks.
