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packaging accelerated in 2009 when the world’s largest beverage company devoted
time and resources to create and commercialise the PlantBottle. The Coca-Cola Co.’s
first-generation PlantBottle replaced one of the two base components of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) with renewable materials made from sugar cane by-products.
PET is made of 30%mono-ethylene glycol (MEG) and 70% purified terephthalic
acid (PTA). The PlantBottle replaces petroleum-based MEG with a plant-based
alternative, which does not change the recyclability of the PET.
To help fund continued commercialisation of the PlantBottle technology and make
it more economically viable for all, Coke has collaborated with a number of suppliers – as
well as consumer packaged goods (CPG) partners, including for example Heinz.
While the Coca-Cola PlantBottle introduction was one of the most influential
developments for the bioplastics industry in recent years, it was not the only one. The
Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance is another partnership developed to boost bioplastics
development, an area of sustainable packaging that is undergoing a quiet revolution.
But bioplastics are only one alternate material being considered. Dell has been
actively looking for and using sustainable alternatives for packaging materials, such as
bamboo, wheat straw and mushroom-based packaging. In May 2014, the computer and
accessories dynamo touted its new packaging made from air. [4]
5.2.7 Epic failure: the garbage patches
While the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” is a term often used by the media, it does
not paint an accurate picture of the marine debris problem in the North Pacific Ocean
(see Figure 5.4). Marine debris concentrates in various regions of the North Pacific,
not just in one area. The exact size, content, and location of the “garbage patches” are
difficult to accurately predict.
The name “Pacific Garbage Patch” has led many to believe that this area is a
large and continuous patch of easily visible marine debris items such as bottles and
other litter—akin to a literal island of trash that should be visible with satellite or aerial
photographs. This is not the case. While higher concentrations of litter items can be
found in this area, much of the debris is actually small pieces of floating plastic that are
not immediately evident to the naked eye. [6]
Ocean debris is continuously mixed by wind and wave action and widely dispersed
both over huge surface areas and throughout the top portion of the water column. It
is possible to sail through “garbage patch” areas in the Pacific and see very little or no
debris on the water’s surface. It is also difficult to estimate the size of these “patches”
because the borders and content constantly change with ocean currents and winds.
Regardless of the exact size, mass, and location of the “garbage patch,” manmade debris
does not belong in our oceans and waterways and must be addressed. Debris found
in any region of the ocean can easily be ingested by marine species causing choking,
starvation, and other impairments.