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Bacardí Scales Biodegradable Bottle

Bacardí Ltd.’s approach to reducing marine plastic pollution is somewhat counter-intuitive.

Bacardi Range Innovation Paper Bottle Us Lifestyle

They are adding 3,000 tons of plastic to their packaging mix.

That’s not what the Ocean Conservancy is advising. “The inaccessibility of the majority of marine plastic pollution,” says the organization, implies that “there is currently little prospect for cost-effective cleanup, suggesting that researchers and policymakers alike should primarily focus their attention on reducing future flows of plastic into the ocean.”

Most marine plastic pollution (MPP) mitigation initiatives in the packaging field concentrate on stemming the flow of plastics into the sea by reducing the amount of plastics in their products, and boosting the use of recycled content.

Bacardí’s approach is different. And more ambitious. In the next 18 months the company plans to replace 80-million plastic bottles–approximately 3,000 tons of plastic–with contact clear biodegradable, plant-based polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) containers for its entire spirits portfolio, including Bombay Sapphire gin, Grey Goose vodka, Patrón tequila, Martini vermouth, and Dewar’s scotch whisky. Bacardí rum will be first to convert to PHA bottles. The spirits giant worked on the project with Danimer Scientific, developer and manufacturer of Nodax PHA, which is derived from canola, palm and soy seeds. Danimer says the PHA bottles will biodegrade in a wide range of environments, including compost, soil, freshwater, and sea water, and after 18 months, “disappear without leaving behind harmful microplastics.”

Bacardí intends to share its PHA bottle technology with other spirits makers, a strategy that could lower the cost of Nodax by increasing its production volume.

The Bacardí/Danimer announcement comes as global concerns are rising about nearly 16 million tons of non-biodegradable microplastics embedded in the sea floor. These are fragments measuring between 5 mm and 1 μm, and make up more than twice the amount found on the surface of the ocean, according to a recent study by Australia’s national science agency—Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). It is believed that this is the first ever global estimate of the amount of microplastics on the ocean’s bottom.

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