Drinking Coca-Cola From Paper Bottle Could Soon Be Reality, Brand Unveils Prototype

Beverage giant Coca-Cola has been working towards creating a bottle made entirely from paper that would help the brand achieve sustainability goals towards a 'World Without Waste'.

"Our vision is to create a paper bottle than can be recycled like any other type of paper, and this prototype is the first step on the way to achieving this. A paper bottle opens up a whole new world of packaging possibilities, and we are convinced that paper packaging has a role to play in the future," said Stijn Franssen, EMEA R&D Packaging Innovation Manager at Coca-Cola, who is currently working on the project.

Unveiling a prototype for its first-ever paper bottle, Coca-Cola said that it partnered with a paper bottle company, Paboco, and still contains some plastic. However, in a blog post, it detailed that prototype was made up of a paper shell with a plastic closure and plastic liner. Though the liner and closure are made from "100% recycled plastic that can be recycled again after use," the company highlighted that its next step is to create a bottle that does not need the plastic liner.

Rising plastic pollution around the globe has been considered to be one of the biggest environmental threats, with an estimated 8 million tons of plastic waste escapes into the oceans from coastal nations, according to National Geographic. The report further stressed that plastic waste has been the root cause of death of millions of animals every year, from birds to fish to other marine organisms. Nearly 700 species, including endangered ones, have been known to have been affected by plastics.

Taking the environmental impact of plastic packaging into consideration, the brand said that it could tur out to be futuristic and sustainable packaging solution. Additionally, a paper bottle of the future must adhere to the same high safety and quality standards for food packaging that currently apply. So the company has been conducting extensive testing on the prototype.

"We also reflect on how our consumers will react to this paper bottle. Topics like when and where it could be sold and how it can be recycled are all considered. The bottle must be explored from every perspective to ensure that we make the bottle the best it can be," said the Innovation Manager.

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