Plastic bottles made from plants cleans up environment.

Plastic bottles made from plants cleans up environment. The use of plastic bottles for packaging is increasing globally, with the number expected to reach around 227 million this year. Most of these bottles are made from fossil fuels, mainly petroleum with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) is the fastest growing category of the bottles being produced. Plastic bottles as a whole present a number of problems to developed and developing economies such as high greenhouse gas emissions during production and incineration, the physical pollution of oceanic waters and health complications that result from burning them. The plastic bottle is an economical replacement for glass bottles and recycling a PET bottle is better, in regard to greenhouse gas emissions, than producing a new one or burning an existing bottle. The reduction of carbon emissions from a cheap product that is increasingly being demanded as economies grow around the world is a great concern and certain companies have stepped in to curb emissions. The world has enjoyed the use of a plastic bottle made of 30% plant material and 70% from fossil fuels now for over 7 years and the product known as PlantBottle, was launched by Coca Cola in 2009. The result has been wonderful, with Coca Cola reporting cutting down emissions by about 315, 00 metric tons of carbon dioxide after their first PlantBottle was launched in 2009. The plant material used to make part of the plastic component is being sourced from sugar cane. The traditional PET bottle which is made from 100% fossil fuels achieves a higher carbon foot print,as manufacturing of PET traditionally produces around 3 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2). The race to environmentally sustainable packaging is still on and changes underway should enable even greater improvements. Coca Cola has launched a PlantBottle made of 100% plant material. The initiative will mark a big global step towards reducing the carbon footprint produced from plastics. The elimination of dependence on fossil fuels in production of bottles will finally have substantial overall impact as 75% of global carbon emissions come from burning fossil fuels such as oil and gas, and from making cement and thus reduction of burning of fossils when producing these bottles would be considerable. The percentage of PlantBottles being used as a whole worldwide is further less when you compare to the current total global consumption of plastic bottles. Therefore, adoption and acceptance of this technology by other companies will be crucial. Other companies have also started adopting the innovation, leading to further saving of petroleum. Heinz is using the PlantBottle technology for its Ketchup bottle, SeaWorld for some test models of the Fusion Energi hybrid sedan and Coca Cola is working with others such as Nike and Procter & Gamble. This marks the beginning of the application of the PlantBottle technology in other areas than bottling, which is considerable given that bottles account for only 30% of PET produced. Ford Motors also said it would use the PlantBottle packaging solution for interior fabric surfaces on its models to test the market. Toyota has also been interested in employing the technology for its seats. Coca Cola also wants to have all its beverage packaging use the new PlantBottle by 2020 and want to recover 50% of its PET bottles consumed globally through recycling by 2015. continue