Coke In Paper Bottle? Coca-Cola Testing New Prototype To Resolve Criticism Over Plastic Packaging

Coca-Cola was termed as the world's worst plastic polluter for the third year in a row last year, followed by Nestle and PepsiCo. Read on.

Representative Photo: Getty Images

New Delhi: In a new development, popular beverage giant Coca-Cola is working on making paper bottles in Europe to be able to end its share of plastic waste by the year 2030. 

Coca-Cola was termed as the world's worst plastic polluter for the third year in a row last year, followed by Nestle and PepsiCo. So the company is working on its first-ever paper bottle prototype that could be available as soon as this summer through a limited online trial in Hungary, as reported by the Daily Mail UK. 

Currently, the prototype is not 100 percent plastic-free as it includes a plastic cap and plastic lining made from recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET). But otherwise, it is reported to be primarily made of sustainably sourced wood with a bio-based material barrier that can not only store liquid but also the gases used in fizzy drinks. 

Meanwhile, the US company claims that it is continuing work towards making a complete paper bottle that can be recycled like normal paper. For this, Coca-Cola has been conducting extensive lab testing to ascertain how the paper bottles store and protect their contents.

Coca-Cola has been criticised for being one of the biggest producers of plastic waste and due to this, the company recently committed to opt for bottles made from 100 percent recycled plastic material in the US.

As previously stated, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Nestle were named the world's worst plastic polluters in December 2020.

The annual audit was done by an environmental group Break Free From Plastic which collected approximately 350,000 pieces of plastic from 55 countries.

Coca-Cola's plastic waste (13,834 pieces) was more than the combined total of Nestle (8,633) and PepsiCo (5,155).

Currently, plastic waste makes for a major environmental crisis which is piling on waste without offering any solutions. Even plastic packaging which is termed to be bio-degradable by popular brands is often seen falling short of the claims.

But this development seems to suggest that companies are finally responding to the questions raised against them and will hopefully come up with environment-friendly alternatives in the near future.