Planet Green introduces Oxo-biodegradable plastic bottle.

The Planet Green Bottle Corporation (PGBC) of Toronto, Canada, reports it has commenced accepting orders for additive, pre-forms and plastic bottles which are manufactured using technology that renders plastic PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles oxo-biodegradable.

The company said "Oxo-biodegradability is triggered with exposure to oxygen, heat and UV light and therefore ensures long shelf life before the degradation commences." The plastic bottles will oxo-biodegrade in landfills, ditches, rivers and oceans.

PGBC says the package is adaptable to most liquids packaged into PET plastic containers, including alcoholic beverages.

Under contract with PGBC, the Wells Plastics Co. of the U.K. proved that their Reverte additive could reverse the antimicrobial activity and accelerate microbial activity that causes degrading of plastic bottles.

Andrew Barclay, Director of Technology for Wells, stated, "Reverte mixes with the standard PET feedstock with no impact on the clarity and physical properties of the bottle. The contents are protected and the shelf life unaffected. Once disposed of and exposed to UV light and heat, the spent bottle commences its degradation profile, first embrittling and breaking into small pieces, and then once the molecular weight is reduced sufficiently the material becomes available for biodigestion. PET plastic bottles manufactured using the Reverte additive can enter the normal plastics recycling streams without issue or adverse affect."

"Our dedication to biodegradability of plastic bottles started in Africa, before focussing on joint ventures in foreign markets globally," said Nick Havercroft Chairman of PGBC. "We have negotiated transactions in at least 10 countries to date to introduce biodegradable plastic bottles around the world. In America only 23% of plastic bottles are recycled while in certain parts of the world plastic bottles are discarded into ditches. The world is being buried in plastic, especially PET plastic bottles. We hired Wells to solve the problem of making plastic bottles biodegradable. They were successful by demonstrating and proving to us that their oxo-biodegradable technology will solve this problem while having our oxo-biodegradable plastic bottles remain recycling friendly throughout municipal collection streams".

Patrick Rooney, director of corporate development of PGBC, said that the company began to investigate biodegradable PET bottles when they examined the research of Captain Charles Moore, a noted marine scientist.

"Moore demonstrated that the world's largest garbage dump in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was as large as Africa and was largely plastic garbage destined to last forever," Rooney said. "This 'plastic soup' has 6 pounds of plastic for every 1 pound of plankton. Much of our fish supply depends on plankton. We must start to change the paradigm of how we handle plastic refuse. The National Association for PET Container Resources reported that only 23.6% of PET bottles were recycled in 2006, down from 40% in 1996. We are advocates for recycling but we need biodegradable plastic bottles now."

Planet Green Bottle Corporation is incorporated in Canada with regional offices in Toronto, Nebraska, North Carolina and Zimbabwe.