Bacardi Helps in Fight Against Plastic Pollution with 100% Biodegradable Bottle

By Sophia DeVito

The world’s largest family-owned spirits company has made an eco-friendly spirits bottle that will biodegrade in 18 months.

Bacardi leaped forward to help the fight against climate change and plastic pollution by announcing to have sustainable spirit bottles on the shelf by 2023.

The 100% biodegradable bottles will help to replace the 80 million plastic bottles or 3,000 tons of plastic that are currently being produced by Bacardi every year. This is all possible thanks to their close collaboration with Danimer Scientific, a leading developer, and manufacturer of biodegradable goods.

Bacardi uses Petroleum-based plastics that will be replaced by Danimer Scientific Nodax PHA, a biopolymer that comes from natural oils of plant seeds like palm, canola, and soy. Regular plastic can take over 400 years to decompose, the new spirits bottle can biodegrade in a wide range of environments like compost, soil, freshwater, and seawater after 18 months. It will disappear without leaving any harmful microplastics behind.

Bacardi Innovative Paper Bottles

Bacardi Innovative Paper Bottles

Bacardi rum will be the first spirit to appear in the bottle and the company’s 200 brands including BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, GREY GOOSE vodka, PATRON tequila, MARTINI vermouth, and DEWARS Scotch whisky are to follow.

The brand will also be creating a sustainably sourced paper bottle along with the 100% biopolymer spirits bottle.  Despite being environmentally conscious, the Nodax PHA polymer will ensure the quality and taste of the spirit inside the bottle.

Jean-Marc Lambert, Senior Vice President, Global Operations for Bacardi, said, “When we set ourselves the goal of being 100% 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.”

This announcement by Bacardi represents a step toward the company achieving its goal to be plastic-free in the next 10 years. The company has also committed to removing all non-essential, single-use plastic, including plastic gift box materials and plastic point-of-sale materials in the next three years.

“Nodax™ PHA is one of the most promising eco-friendly materials in the world today because it delivers the biodegradability that consumers demand without losing the quality feel they receive from traditional plastic,” said Scott Tuten, Chief Marketing & Sustainability Officer at Danimer Scientific. “The material provides the best of both worlds, and we look forward to working with Bacardi and incorporating PHA into their iconic packaging.”

Find out more about Bacardi’s sustainability commitments and its vision to become the most environmentally responsible global spirits company at BacardiLimited.com/Corporate-Responsibility.

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