The Coca-Cola Company announced that it is testing a more sustainable paper bottle in Hungary, with limited online sales of the product starting this summer. The company’s research and development team, based in Brussels, is working with the Danish startup The Paper Bottle Company on this project, with a final goal for bottles that ‘can be recycled like paper’.
It is no secret that the planet is full of plastic waste, including consumer products like plastic bottles – those used quickly, then discarded, often going to landfills, lakes and the ocean. Consumers are increasingly turning to more environmentally friendly products, reducing meat consumption and decreasing personal waste.
It is no surprise, then, that Coca-Cola is looking for fully recyclable bottles that could one day replace ordinary plastic bottles. The company plans a circulation of 2,000 bottles of AdeZ, a drink, which will be sold online through the website Kifli.hu. The Paper Bottle Company (Paboco) developed the technology to make this bottle.
The plastic alternative has a “bio-based material” as an external barrier similar to a box, made with wood of sustainable origin. The bottle includes a recyclable plastic liner that contains the drink, as well as a plastic cap. According to Coca-Cola, the paper exterior is designed to withstand oxygen, CO2 and liquids, meaning it can be used with other consumer products, such as makeup.
The pilot launch of a drink in these bottles will give Coca-Cola a chance to see how they behave in a real-world environment and how consumers respond to changing the bottle. Daniela Zahariea, of Coca-Cola Europe, said:
The test we announced today is a milestone for us in our quest to develop a paper bottle. People expect Coca-Cola to develop and bring new, innovative and sustainable types of packaging to market. That is why we are partnering with experts like Paboco, openly experimenting and conducting this first test on the market.