In a world desperate for alternatives to plastic, Dutch company Avantium may just have the solution. Backed by distribution giants Coca-Cola and Carlsberg, the company is currently in the process of developing plant-based plastic packaging solutions.
Consisting of corn, beet sugars and wheat, the new material would resemble plastic in structure but is much gentler on the environment.
The plant-based plastic would dissolve in a few years in normal circumstances, or just 12 months if in a composter.
Currently, across the globe, we produce around 300 million tons of plastic year and we are frantically looking to reduce this number. The new material would dissolve naturally into the environment in just a few years, compared to plastic which takes up to a whopping 1000 years to decompose in landfills.
With the worldwide impact of plastics, and more specifically microplastics (minuscule plastic fragments) evidently causing harm to flora and fauna, the announcement of plant-based plastic is definitely welcomed. Especially in the midst of a global pandemic where our environmental impact is becoming harder to ignore.
Although still in its production stages, the new plastic is hoped to be used in food and drink packaging by 2023, which isn’t that far away.
”We are pleased with the progress we’ve made on the Green Fiber Bottle so far,” Commented Carlsberg’s vice president of group development. “While we are not completely there yet, the two prototypes are an important step towards realising our ultimate ambition of bringing this breakthrough to market.”
Check out the future of plant-based plastic bottles below:
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