Odwalla Introducing Eco-friendly Container

Odwalla, the Half Moon Bay, Calif.-based manufacturer of natural juices, juice drinks, smoothies, protein drinks and food bars, will change all of the brand’s single-serve bottles to PlantBottle packaging, a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) that consists of up to 100 percent plant-based materials and is 100 percent recyclable, in March 2011.

The new container will help to reduce dependence on nonrenewable resources. For instance, the potential yearly reduction in carbon dioxide from the use of plant-based material, instead of petroleum, to make the PlantBottle is equal to a savings of nearly 400,000 gallons of gas.

“Plants do such a good job of making our juice, Odwalla hired them to help make our bottles,” noted the company’s president, Alison Lewis. “Doing good things for the community and building a business with heart are core guiding principles of Odwalla’s vision. PlantBottle packaging is just the latest step in our continued commitment to the environment.”

The brand’s other green initiatives include the “Plant a Tree Program,” which has planted more than 300,000 trees over the past three years, and the use at Odwalla’s Dinuba, Calif., plant of Bloom Energy Fuel Cell technology to lower the facility’s carbon footprint by 35 percent while supplying 30 percent of its energy needs.

The material used to make the PlantBottle comes from molasses and sugarcane juice. According to the company, it performs as well as traditional HDPE and PET bottles, with no differences in shelf life, weight, composition or appearance. What’s more, the container can be recycled over and over again.