Bacardi is planning to launch a 100% based spirits bottle – that, it says, will biodegrade in 18 months – on store shelves by 2023.
The new 100% biodegradable bottle will replace 80 Million plastic bottles – 3,000 tons of plastic – currently produced by Bacardi across its portfolio of brands every year.
This move is possible thanks to Bacardi’s close collaboration with Danimer Scientific, a developer and manufacturer of biodegradable products.
Petroleum-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.
While a regular plastic bottle takes over 400 years to decompose, 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.
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 Sapphire gin and Martini vermouth.
As well as the new 100% biopolymer spirits bottle, Bacardi is also creating a sustainably sourced paper bottle.
The moves are the latest steps in the company’s goal of being 100% 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.
