Coca-Cola is developing paper bottles – Watch the prototype in a video!

100% paper, 100% recycled materials. The Coca-Cola Company is working for a World Without Waste. To achieve these goals, they have created the first paper bottle prototype together with the Paboco startup company. The special bottle is revealed in a video, which also give us a glimpse into the lab, where the prototypes are being tested.

Imagine a world where each and every piece of packaging produced and sold is also collected and recycled after use – a World Without Waste. That’s the stated goal of Coca-Cola: they aim to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every one they sell by 2030, while also substantially reducing their use of virgin packaging materials, and only using packaging materials that are 100% recyclable.

It will take continuing investment in innovation, exploration of different technologies and, crucially, partnership and collaboration to get there. This time they approached Paboco, the company most thoroughly examining the possibilities offered by the paper bottle.

The Danish Paboco launched its innovation community called the Paboco Pioneer Community last year, with Coca-Cola as one of the founding members. They are working to create the world’s first fully bio-based and recyclable paper bottle for packaging soft drinks, beauty products, and other everyday consumer products. The prototype of the recyclable paper bottle has already been created, but a lot of work still must be done. The first-generation paper bottle still contains some plastic.

„This first-generation paper bottle prototype consists of a paper shell with a plastic closure and a plastic liner inside. The plastic we use is made from 100% recycled plastic that can be recycled again after use. But our vision is to create a paper bottle that can be recycled like any paper. The next step is to find a solution to create a bottle without the plastic liner” – said Stijn Franssen EMEA R&D Packaging innovation manager at Coca-Cola.

This is all part of the journey to find the most sustainable packaging solutions for people to enjoy Coca-Cola’s drinks in a way that is right for them, and that is right for our planet – the packaging innovation expert added.

You can watch the video revealing the paper bottle prototype here.