Coca-Cola is to test a paper bottle as part of a longer-term goal to get rid of plastic from its packaging entirely. The prototype （样本） is made by a Danish company from an extra-strong paper shell that still contains a thin plastic liner （衬垫）. But the goal is to create a 100% recyclable, plastic free bottle capable of preventing gas escaping from carbonated（碳酸） drinks. The barrier must also ensure no fibers get into the liquid.
That may have a risk of changing the taste of the drink —or potentially can't meet the requirements of health and safety checks. But industry giants （巨头）are backing the plan. Coca-Cola, for example, has set a goal of producing zero waste by 2030. Coca-Cola was ranked the world's number one plastic polluter by charity group Break Free From Plastic（摆脱塑料） last year, closely followed by other drink-producers Pepsi and Nestle.
The Paper Bottle Company, or Paboco, is the Danish firm behind the development of the paper-based container. Part of the challenge has been to create a structure capable of standing the forces exerted by carbonated drinks — such as cola and beer — which are bottled under pressure. On top of that, the paper needs to be mouldable to create different bottle shapes and sizes for different brands and take ink for printing their labels.
After more than seven years of lab work, the firm is now ready to host a trial in Hungary this summer of Coca-Cola's fruit drink Adez. Initially, this will involve 2,000 bottles distributed via a local retail chain.
But it is also working with others. Absolut, the vodka maker, is due to test 2,000 paper bottles of its own in the UK and Sweden of its pre-mixed, carbonated raspberry drink. And beer company Carlsberg is also building prototypes of a paper beer bottle.
Michael Michelsen, the firm's commercial manager, says the bottles are formed out of a single piece of paper-fiber-based material to give them strength.
