Bacardi to adopt 100 per cent biodegradable PHA bottle
Canadian Plastics
Materials Packaging SustainabilityPetroleum-based plastics used by Bacardi today will be replaced by Danimer Scientific’s Nodax PHA, a biopolymer which derives from the natural oils of plant seeds such as palm, canola, and soy.
Photo Credit: Bacardi
Bacardí, the world’s largest family-owned spirits company, Bacardí, has unveiled plans to put the world’s most sustainable spirits bottle on shelf by 2023. The new 100 per cent biodegradable bottle will replace the 80 million plastic bottles — representing about 3,000 tons of plastic — currently produced by Bacardi across its portfolio of brands yearly.
In a press release, Bacardi credited the breakthrough to a “close collaboration” with Danimer Scientific, in particular the bioplastic vendor’s Nodax PHA, a polyhydroxyalkanoate biopolymer that’s derived from the natural oils of plant seeds such as palm, canola, and soy.
While a regular plastic bottle takes over 400 years to decompose, Bascardi said, the new spirits bottle made from Nodax PHA 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, according to the manufacturer.
Bacardi rum will be the first spirit to appear in the new bottle, before the plant-based material is rolled out to replace single-use plastic across the entire Bacardi supply chain and the company’s 200 brands and labels including Bombay Saphire gin, Grey Goose vodka, Patrón tequila, Martini vermouth, and Dewar’s Scotch whisky.
As well as the new 100 per cent biopolymer spirits bottle, Bacardi is also creating “a sustainably-sourced paper bottle”, by integrating the Nodax PHA polymer.
Jean-Marc Lambert, senior vice president, global operations for Bacardi, said: “When we set ourselves the goal of being 100 per cent plastic free by 2030, we knew that it would take ground-breaking advances in packaging design to make it achievable, and that’s exactly what’s happening through our partnership with Danimer,” said Jean-Marc Lambert, senior vice president, global operations for Bacardi.
Bacardi’s announcement represents what the company calls “a major step” towards its goal of being 100 per cent plastic-free in the next 10 years. As well as launching the new biopolymer bottle in 2023, the company has also committed to removing all its non-essential, single-use plastic, including all plastic gift box materials and plastic point-of-sale materials, in the next three years.
