New Coke Bottle Is 100 Percent Plant-Based

Statistics show that the recyclable materials in the U.S. waste stream would generate over $7 billion if they were , well, actually all recycled, according to the organization Keep America Beautiful. Unfortunately, that doesn't always happen. However, some companies with recyclable products are bringing about a more natural product, all together.

"Today is a pioneering milestone within our company's packaging portfolio," said Nancy Quan, Coca-Cola global research and development officer, in a statement Wednesday, via The Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel .

The new Coke bottle belongs to part of the company's effort to make the containers more renewable ingredients, according to CNN. "PlantBottle" packing debuted in 2009, in which 30 percent of the bottle is made from plant materials. Yet the PlantBottle that the company just debuted this week is the first to be made 100 percent sugar cane plastic, coming from Brazil.

The bottle has been made via biofuels and biochemical company Virent, which helps make plant-based materials more useable. Coca-Cola also says it's working "to develop a more responsible plant-based alternative to packaging traditionally made from fossil fuels and other nonrenewable materials."

The packaging looks and functions just like traditional polyethylene terephthalate plastic. It is also just as easy to recycle as the material from previous bottles.

Since the PlantBottle's first launch, Coke has distributed over 35 billion bottles in over 40 countries using it current vision of PlantBottle packaging.

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