Coca Cola Introduces 100 Percent Recyclable Package For Dasani And Odwalla

Beginning today, the first 100 percent recyclable beverage packages made with plants are readily available to people across the U.S. If you want to enjoy the fresh taste of Dasani, or a nourishing Odwalla beverage in a more environmentally responsible package made from plants, now you can.

Just in time for Earth Month, Dasani and Odwalla are saying goodbye to their current packaging and saying hello to new PlantBottle packaging. All Dasani bottles and Odwalla single-serving bottles will be available exclusively in PlantBottle packaging - the first-ever fully recyclable plastic beverage bottle produced using plants.

PlantBottle packaging for both brands was developed with the planet in mind. Single-serve Odwalla packages are made from up to 100 percent plant-based materials with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic. PET bottles for Dasani are made with up to 30 percent plant-based materials.

People in the U.S. will be among those enjoying refreshment from billions of PlantBottle packages that will reach store shelves this year. In 2010, more than 2.5 billion PlantBottle packages were available across nine countries. For 2011, that number is expected to double to more than 5 billion PlantBottle packages in more than 15 countries.

"It's our goal to make traditional plastic bottles a thing of the past and ensure that every beverage we produce is available in 100 percent plant-based, fully recyclable packaging," said Scott Vitters, general manager, PlantBottle Packaging Platform, The Coca-Cola Co., in a prepared statement. "The national launch of Dasani PlantBottle packaging represents an important step toward reducing our carbon footprint, and the up to 100 percent plant-based, recyclable packaging used for Odwalla is the first of its kind in the beverage industry."

Traditional PET bottles are made from petroleum and other nonrenewable fossil fuels. Incorporating a blend of petroleum-based materials with up to 30 percent plant-based materials allows PlantBottle packaging for Dasani to reduce potential intrinsic carbon dioxide emissions when compared with PET plastic bottles.

"Dasani is designed to make a difference by offering a better designed package for a more sustainable future," said John Roddey, vice president and general manager, water, tea and coffee, Coca-Cola North America. "Because Dasani PlantBottle packaging is up to 30 percent made from plants and still 100 percent recyclable, it was designed with the planet in mind by helping to reduce the impact of our packaging on the environment."

PlantBottle packaging used for Odwalla is made of HDPE plastic, which is created using only ethylene, which is derived from 100 percent renewable sugarcane-based ethanol. Odwalla is the first nationally distributed beverage brand to transition its packaging to fully recyclable, HDPE plastic made from 100 percent plant-based materials.

"The launch of PlantBottle packaging for Odwalla represents a significant step in our brand's ongoing efforts to protect our planet," said Alison Lewis, president, Odwalla. "Since its inception, Odwalla has maintained a very simple vision: make great juice, do good things for the community and build a business with a heart."

The plant-based materials for both Dasani and Odwalla PlantBottle packaging are produced through a process that turns sugarcane into a key component for PET and HDPE plastic. Currently, PlantBottle packaging is made using sugarcane ethanol from Brazil, the only source widely recognized globally for its unique environmental and social performance. Brazilian sugarcane is primarily rain fed and industrially grown on abundant, arable land using organic fertilizers. The plantations from which PlantBottlematerials are sourced are located far away from Amazon rain forests, and their impact on biodiversity is reduced thanks to advanced farming practices and sound public policy.