The international beverage giant revealed that it is working to create a bottle made entirely from paper for “a wide range” of its drinks.
Coca-Cola is exploring the concept of a paper bottle with Paboco, and the three other companies in the Paboco Pioneer Community. The partners are now at the stage of having a first-generation prototype ready that Coca-Cola believes can play a part in helping to achieve its goal of a World Without Waste.
Coca-Cola EMEA R&D packaging innovation manager Stijn Franssen, who is working on the project, explained: “Our vision is to create a paper bottle than can be recycled like any other type of paper, and this prototype is the first step on the way to achieving this. A paper bottle opens up a whole new world of packaging possibilities, and we are convinced that paper packaging has a role to play in the future.”
The company has not yet successfully fulfilled its objective of creating a bottle that is made of 100% paper, as the first-generation prototype still consists of a paper shell with a plastic closure and a plastic liner inside. However, the closure and liner are made from 100% recycled plastic that can be recycled again after use.
“The next step is to find a solution to create a bottle without the plastic liner,” Mr Franssen explained.
The firm’s aim to create a World Without Waste means it is working towards a stated goal to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one it sells by 2030, while also substantially reducing its use of virgin packaging materials, and only using packaging materials that are 100% recyclable.
The company admits “a lot of work still must be done” to achieve its vision and thorough testing of the prototype is currently underway.
Just like other types of packaging, a paper bottle of the future must adhere to the same high safety and quality standards for food packaging that currently apply. Mr Franssen and this team are putting the bottle through comprehensive testing in the lab to see how it performs in the refrigerator, how strong it is, and how well it protects the drinks inside.
“We also reflect on how our consumers will react to this paper bottle. Topics like when and where it could be sold and how it can be recycled are all considered. The bottle must be explored from every perspective to ensure that we make the bottle the best it can be,” said Mr Franssen.
He is optimistic that future technological solutions will help achieve the vision of a paper bottle that’s recyclable as paper – a type of packaging technology that can be part of Coca-Cola’s packaging and portfolio mix, and which could be used for a wide range of beverages.
