Introducing the First Biodegradable Bottle Made From Sugar Cane

It might look like an ordinary plastic bottle, but this bioplastic alternative is 100% biodegradable - even the label and lid.

VeganBottle is a new alternative to environmentally-unfriendly one-use plastic bottles - made from a plant-based, fully biodegradable and recyclable bioplastic.

Autor*in Ana Galán Herranz, 11.21.17

VeganBottle is a new alternative to environmentally-unfriendly one-use plastic bottles – made from a plant-based, fully biodegradable and recyclable bioplastic.

Is the age of the plastic water bottle coming to an end? Not if predictions are anything to go by. According to data from the Guardian, one million plastic bottles are sold around the globe every single minute. And annual consumption is set to top half a trillion by 2021. But there are several initiatives that are taking steps – however small – in the right direction. Like Berlin and Bristol’s free tap water initiatives, the Liter of Light invention which turns used plastic bottles into solar lightbulbs, and even futuristic water “blobs” that are made out of seaweed and completely edible.

VeganBottle is a 100% biodegradable bottle made from sugar cane manufactured by a French packaging company, Lyspackaging. Nicolas Moufflet, the engineer behind this project and president of the company, has spent several years developing the technology needed to create a plastic bottle – where every single component, including the lid and the label, are biodegradable.

His solution combines sugar cane bagasse (the fibre/pulp that remains after extracting the sugar cane juice) with other plant-based products (the exact patented formula is secret) to produce the material that is also suitable not just for holding water, but also other liquids too – including oil, beer or even perfume.

In fact, VeganBottles can even be produced to match up with whatever liquids they will later contain. Bottles made for olive oil, for example, can be produced using olive kernel extract.

A well-known contemporary art centre in Paris, the Palais de Tokyo, has already requested 100,000 VeganBottles. And Lyspackaging – that currently produces primarily traditional plastic bottles – is planning to move half of its production to the biodegradable alternative, aiming to reach 80% of production by 2020.

Ecoalf: Transforming Fishing Nets, Coffee Grounds and Plastic Bottles Into Sustainable Fashion

A Spanish fashion company is using discarded plastic bottles, fishing nets, tyres and even coffee to produce a range of upmarket upcycled clothing.

Liter of Light: Turning Plastic Bottles Into Solar Lightbulbs

A foundation from the Philippines brings light to zones without electricity, one plastic bottle at a time. The technology is open source and the foundation wishes to empower people to spread and install these lights in their communities.

Ooho! Will These Edible Blobs Replace Water Bottles?

In an effort to reduce plastic waste, a UK lab has developed seaweed-based shells that encapsulate water. As well as having a cool, futuristic appearance, their low environmental impact and cheap production make them an interesting alternative to plastic bottles.

How One Man Is Transforming A Million Plastic Bottles Into A Sustainable Village

One man's trash is another man's treasure. And in this particular case, that couldn't be more true. In the middle of a forest, on an island off the coast of Panama, an entirely new kind of village is springing up, with each house made of tens of thousands of recycled plastic bottles. 

Kickstart This: the World’s First Biodegradable Water Bottle

Biodegradable plastics derived from plant materials seem like a solution to sustainably deal with the vast mount of plastic that is used and thrown away each year.

13374468455_fb39e2b175_z
Choo Yut Shing
Automated Plastic Bottle Sorting Detects Fingerprint of Plastics

A new technology uses flashes of light to make plastic polymers fluoresce, meaning special plastics can be identified and sorted accurately at a speed of 1.5 tonnes of plastic per hour. This new process enables and simplifies plastics sorting in recycling plants and facilitates the rapid separation of plastics for re-use.