The new prototype has been designed for its Orangina brand in Europe, as well as Suntory Tennensui bottled mineral water brand in Japan
Orangina 100% plant-based PET bottle prototypes, excluding caps and labels. (Credit: SUNTORY HOLDINGS LIMITED)
Japan-based beverage company Suntory Group has unveiled a new prototype polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle produced using 100% plant-based materials.
The company has designed the prototype for its Orangina brand in Europe, as well as Suntory Tennensui bottled mineral water brand in Japan.
Suntory said that PET is produced using two raw materials, including 70% terephthalic acid (PTA) and 30% mono ethylene glycol (MEG).
Anellotech’s plant-based paraxylene derived from wood chips is used to develop Suntory’s prototype plant-based bottle.
The paraxylene, which was transformed to plant-based PTA, combined with pre-existing plant-based MEG made from molasses to create a bottle prototype.
Anellotech president and CEO David Sudolsky said: “This achievement is the result of over ten years of thorough and painstaking development work by Anellotech’s dedicated employees, together with Suntory and other partners.”
By shifting to 100% recycled or plant-based PET bottles by 2030, Suntory aims to eliminate the use of all petroleum-derived virgin PET plastic.
The fully recyclable prototype plant-based bottle is expected to significantly minimise lower carbon emissions compared to the petroleum-derived virgin bottle, stated the company.
Suntory MONOZUKURI Expert CEO Tsunehiko Yokoi said: “We’re delighted with this achievement, as it brings us one step closer to delivering this sustainable PET bottle to the hands of our consumers.
“The significance of this technology is that the PTA is produced from non-food biomass to avoid competition with the food chain, while MEG is also derived from non-food grade feedstock.”
Suntory has used its 2R+B (Reduce/Recycle + Bio) strategy to minimise the weight of containers, including labels and caps. It is also focusing on using recycled or plant-based materials in its plastic bottles across the globe.