The Suntory Group has unveiled a prototype 100% plant-based PET bottle , manufactured for its European brand Orangina and Suntory Tennensu , its best-selling bottled mineral water brand in Japan. This is the culmination of nearly a decade of innovation and development in collaboration with Anellotech , a US-based sustainable technology company.
This represents a boost to Suntory's ongoing work to promote a circular economy for plastics by developing sustainable materials, investing in advanced recycling technologies , such as its innovative partnership with Carbios, a pioneer in enzymatic recycling, and raising awareness for more sustainable consumer behavior. Suntory aims to bring this 100% plant-based bottle to market as soon as possible to meet its goal of fully sustainable PET bottles by 2030.
PET is produced with two raw materials: 70% terephthalic acid (PTA) and 30% monoethylene glycol (MEG). Suntory's plant-based bottle prototype has been manufactured combining the latest Anellotech technology, consisting of a plant-based paraxylene derived from wood chips converted to plant-based terephthalic acid (PTA), along with monoethylene glycol (MEG) of pre-existing plant origin, made from molasses that the Suntoy Group has been using in Japan since 2013 under the Suntory Tennensui brand.
“We are delighted with this development, as it represents another step towards our goal of incorporating sustainable PET bottles into our offering to consumers,” says Tsunehiko Yokoi , CEO of Suntory MONOZUKURI Expert Ltd. “The significance of this technology lies in the fact that terephthalic acid is produced from non-food biomass to avoid competition with the food chain, while MEG is obtained from non-food raw materials.”
This cutting-edge technology will allow SBFS to meet its goal of using only recycled plastics or plant-based materials. The company is already working across many of its brands to achieve this objective. In the case of Schweppes , the plastic rings on its cans have been replaced with a cardboard alternative, its secondary packaging is produced with 50% recycled material, its packaging is fully recyclable, and next year 100% of its PET bottles will be made from recycled material.
“We firmly believe that plastics, when manufactured and recycled responsibly, play an important role in soft drink production. We can use wood chips and molasses to create a plastic that can then be recycled again. In the future, we will integrate this new bioplastic with the plastic produced from post-consumer waste. This will allow us to say goodbye to bottles made from fossil fuels, which also contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” says Vicent Meron , R&D Director at Suntory Beverage & Food Europe.
