Bacardi to Launch Fully Biodegradable Bottles

Bacardi has created a new, 100% biodegradable bottle, which they plan to launch in 2023. 

The bottles are made from Nodax PHA – a biopolymer that derives from the natural oils of plant seeds including palm, canola, and soy. Unlike traditional plastic bottles that take up to 400 years to decompose, these will biodegrade in 18 months –  without leaving microplastics behind. They can biodegrade in various environments, such as compost, soil, freshwater, and seawater.

Alongside these biopolymer spirits bottles, Bacardi also plans to launch paper drink bottles made from sustainably-sourced trees. It is not yet decided which drinks will be in the paper bottles and which in the biopolymer bottles, but both are planned to launch in 2023.

The plan is to replace 80 million plastic bottles totaling 3,000 tons of plastic each year. But it won’t just be used for the rum. The Bermuda-based company will also use these bottles across other brands it owns, including Bombay Sapphire, Grey Goose vodka, Martini vermouth, and Patrón Tequila. Not to mention, the packaging development team will also use the new bio-plastic to replace the plastic lining of bottle closures.

“It may sound small,” said Jean-Marc Lambert, senior vice president of global operations for Bacardi. “But add that up across every bottle produced globally and we’re talking many tons of plastic every day. Once we’ve fixed the problem, we’ll be open-sourcing the solution for the entire industry to use. This isn’t about competitive advantage it’s about doing the right thing for the planet.”

All of these changes add up to Bacardi’s goal of going plastic-free by 2030. It’s nice to see how various companies across the globe are working towards a more sustainable future. Other companies with ambitious goals include Amazon, Uber, IKEA, and many more!