The raw materials for this new bottle include switch grass, pine bark and corn husks. The company plans to expand its source materials to orange peels, potato peels, oat hulls and other agricultural by-products.
PepsiCo is still calling it a "PET plastic bottle" because that's what it resembles. The company says that by combining biological and chemical processes, it created a molecular structure that is identical to petroleum-based PET (polyethylene terephthalate), "which results in a bottle that looks, feels and protects its product identically to existing PET beverage containers."
PepsiCo plans to bring out the bottle as a pilot in 2012.
Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, told the Associated Press, "this is the beginning of the end of petroleum-based plastics. When you have a company of this size making a commitment to a plant-based plastic, the market is going to respond."
Here are excerpts from reader comments:
"It's a step toward a more sustainable plastic, though not the final answer. . . . On the upside, because this kind of plastic comes from a renewable resource, it has a lower carbon footprint than plastic made from oil or natural gas. And unlike other kinds of plant-based plastics, this new Pepsi bottle can be recycled in the existing recycling stream as a regular #1 plastic. ... Downside: we don't know what chemicals are used in making this kind of PET. - Susan Freinkel, author of Plastic, A Toxic Love Story.
A recent study found that even plant-based plastics leach estrogenic chemicals, due to additives like mold inhibitors and decorations that are added in the final steps of the plastic-making process. It will be interesting to see if there are any leaching issues with switchgrass and corn husks. Also, regardless of what the bottles are made from, what's inside still isn't very green. If Pepsi decides to use them for soda, that soda will still be made with high-calorie, genetically modified, pesticide-intensive ingredients and other ingredients that contribute to obesity and general ill health. If the company decides to use them for water, they're still trucking what is essentially treated tap water thousands of miles from its source to people who probably have perfectly good tap water already. - An employee at Rodale.com
Reduce, reuse, recycle. The first is key. The second is prudent, and the third, usually no more than a salve. - a commenter identified as "Agamemnon."
