Consumption of plastic bottles for packaging is increasing globally, Plastic bottles present several problems. These include high greenhouse gas emissions during production and incineration, the physical pollution of oceanic waters and health complications that result from burning them.

The traditional PET bottle which is made from 100% fossil fuels (oil) achieves a very high carbon foot print. Manufacturing of PET bottles traditionally produces around 3 tons of carbon dioxide.

There is a solution; the plant bottle. The plant bottle actually reduces carbon dioxide emissions and eliminates dependence on fossil fuels for production of plastic bottles.

 It is made from sugar cane, a plentiful crop that is highly  efficient in terms of water consumption. It is irrigated naturally by rainfall. The sugar cane is harvested and sent to mills where it is converted into ethanol and sugar. The ethanol, an alcohol, is converted into green polyethylene (PE) or bio-plastic. This whole process is CO2 negative, which means that more CO2 is taken up during the manufacture of the bio-plastic than is released during the production. This helps to capture and sequester CO2 thereby reducing CO2 in the atmosphere. The end result is a water bottle that is fully recyclable and toxin free.  

The bagasse or fibrous remains from the sugar cane is used to make bioenergy to meet the needs of the production process as well part of the energy demand of the cities.  

Glass and Aluminium are the materials used to make re-usable water bottles. Aluminium is light, not as light as plastic, and strong but the production process to produce aluminium is extremely intensive and uses a lot of heat. Roughly 5.5tons of CO2 is released per ton of aluminium produced. Aluminium is recyclable but not all production processes are made from recycled aluminium.

Glass production is also an intensive production process releasing 4.4tons CO2 per ton of glass produced on average, it is  recyclable and if you use recycled glass then the CO2 release drops to 0.73tons per ton produced. The problem with glass is that it is so heavy and breakable.  

The founders of Yuhme, Alex and Alex, were delighted to discover that bio- plastic that a negative CO2 impact which means for every ton of plastic produced, 2.4 tons of CO2 is removed! And for every bottles bought they give 6 months of clean water to someone in the Central African Republic. 

This sugar cane water bottle has been  labeled an 'ethical unicorn' by @michelleforgood, because it is ethically produced, environmental friendly and gives back!