Coca-Cola reveals first bottle made from low-grade ocean plastic

Using breakthrough technology in plastic recycling methods, Coca Cola has revealed a new bottle made from previously low-quality marine waste plastic. The new bottle prototype is the first-ever plastic bottle made using marine plastic that has been successfully recycled from food and drink packaging. The plastic was sourced from litter found on the coast of the Mediterranean.

This new method of plastic recycling is called depolymerization. During this process, lower grade plastic can be broken down and cleaned of impurities to be remade into effective food-grade quality plastic. In the past, lower-grade, non-transparent, and colored plastic couldn’t be used to “upcycle” into bottles. 

For the packaging industry, this advancement could forecast a positive change toward reusing current plastic waste over the production of new plastic waste. Coca Cola is hoping to release its new recycled bottle in 2020.