Page 33 - Plastics News February 2021

FeAtures

Sustainable Alternative to Plastic Bottles

Clare Goldsberry

A PET bottle can be recycled into a new 100% PET bottle. Why would one want to replace this

rand owners are still on the hunt for a bottle that will themselves out from under the dark cloud of abominable
Bsatisfy requirements for a plastic-free solution. It’s plastics and stand in the bright sunlight of “sustainability”
interesting to see all these CPGs struggle to get away from by using any material other than plastic, no matter how
plastic — via the “paper” bottle, for example. Yet, try as many resources and how much energy it takes to produce.
they might, they just can’t seem to leave plastic behind. On Aug. 5, 2020, I wrote a blog, “Paper Bottle Coming Soon
to a Liquor Store Near You,” and on Oct. 27, 2020, Rick
Last summer, when paper bottle announcements were
trending, I wrote a rather long blog about the various Lingle interviewed a market analyst from Lux Research
paper bottles that were coming to market. It seemed that on the attempts to make paper green: “Are Paper Bottles
major brand owners were convinced that paper bottles Sustainable and Practical?”
would be the escape route from plastics. However, one Barrett wrote that he used to think that paper was a
thing that paper bottles and other fiberboard containers sustainable material, but after looking into it, he’s “not so
require in order to hold in their contents is a plastic liner. sure anymore.” One thing Barrett is adamant about is that
Brand owners don’t like to talk about that, so I usually CPGs should only use recycled and recyclable resources.
don’t get a response when I inquire about plastic liners “No trees should be cut down for the paper bottle industry.
for paper or fiberboard bottles and containers. Not a single one,” stated Barrett emphatically.
I think that Jon Huntsman Sr. would absolutely agree
with Barrett’s conclusion, and, again, I quote Huntsman:
“Use old dinosaurs, not new trees.” Paper bottles and
food containers that are promoted by brand owners as
“plastic free” is just another example of greenwashing.
And the CPGs are not being truthful because it takes a
plastic liner to keep the contents from soaking through
the paper. I don’t know anyone who wants to waste good
booze because of a leaky bottle!
Glass continues to be used for many types of bottles, but
glass is energy-intensive to produce, heavy to transport,
and requires extensive packaging to prevent breakage.
Additionally, silica sand used to make glass is in short
supply, making recycled glass important despite the
Recently, Axel Barrett — founder of UK-based Bioplastics energy required to melt the glass. Still, the effort, time,
News — went through an exercise of reviewing all the and money spent on, thus far, vain attempts to replace
paper bottles that have been developed since 2011 in plastic with paper bottles or fiberboard containers is
an effort to convince himself that paper really could be ongoing. The major brand owners such as Coca-Cola and
a solution for a plastic-free container or bottle. In “The L’Oreal continue to ignore the science and countless LCAs
Paper-Bottle Fairy Tale,” published on Feb. 15, 2021, that have shown plastic to be the superior and, in fact,
Barrett shared his conclusion that “PET bottles are the only “greener” material.
existing example of bottle-to-bottle mechanical recycling
at industrial scale. A PET bottle can be recycled into a new Take the latest press release from GlobalData regarding
100% PET bottle. Why would you want to replace this?” Absolut Vodka’s new paper bottle, which promises to
“revitalize declining paper and board (P&B) packaging
Why indeed? Yet brand owners keep trying to get

33 Februar y 2021 Plastics News