An American company is ready to sell the first biodegradable water bottle
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Water bottles that disappear completely into the environment in five years. The challenge of Covea US company that has pursued the dream of making completely biodegradable water bottles since 2017, to help the battle againstplastic pollution, seems to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. The CEO of the company, Alex Tottermanannounced that the Cove bottles are in fact now ready to be launched on the market: in the coming months they will arrive in supermarkets and shops at cost of $ 2.99 per bowl.
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Looking at them, these thin and sturdy white cylinders, equipped with caps, look like ordinary containers for liquids: in reality, according to the company Los Angelesare the result of a very long research to be able to replace the classic packaging with others that do not pollute the planet.
In fact, these are “completely biodegradable” bottles, according to the CEO, capable of degrading in water or soil in five years. The principle behind these bottles is the use of PHA, polyhydroxyalkanoates, thermoplastic polyester polymers which are synthesized by various kinds of bacteria through the fermentation of sugars or lipids. A system already used for the production of several bioplasticsbut which Cove has perfected by guaranteeing its biodegradability and resistance.
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The process starts from the kitchens of restaurants or food chains: there thanks to a collaboration with RWDC Industries, chemical industry, the discarded oil is collected and then fermented in PHA, then tiny pellets, bioplastic granules are made, and what is defined as a “secret ingredient” is added. After a process that includes the passage for machines that remove the humidity and shape the material up to obtain the bottles, the last step is the writing: labels and instructions are made with an ink based on algae, intended for biodegradation.
If it works, if Cove’s bottles truly meet the promised standards, it could be a small revolution in the fight against plastic pollution, a material that is extremely difficult to recycle. However, many doubts remain: for years several multinationals (including Coca-Cola) have been trying to design containers produced by vegetable wastethey are biodegradable or compostablebut so far useful results for large retailers have not arrived.
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Cove itself has been trying for years to launch these containers, but between pandemics, energy crises and difficult procurement of ingredients and machinery, it has always postponed. But now it says it is ready to produce 20 million bottles a year, even if in the path of environmentally friendly bottles there could still be many obstacles: from the Californian legislation that classifies PHA as a plastic by limiting production quantities, to the prices of raw materials that fluctuate. Finally, there is also a doubt related to purchases: will consumers really buy more expensive and biodegradable bottles instead of continuing with the classic reusable containers?
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