Atlanta-based Coca-Cola this week unveiled a fully recyclable plastic beverage bottle created using sugarcane.

Coca-Cola said it’s the first PET plastic bottle made entirely from plant materials. PET - polyethylene terephthalate – is a type of plastic used for food and beverage containers.

The “PlantBottle,” the trade marked name given to the innovative packaging, was unveiled Wednesday at the World Expo in Milan.

Coke said more than 35 billion bottles it has produced since 2009 have been made with 30 percent plant-based materials, in addition to fossil fuels and other non-renewable materials.

“Today is a pioneering milestone within our company’s packaging portfolio,” Nancy Quan, Coke’s global research and development officer, said in a statement. “Our vision was to maximize game-changing technology, using responsibly sourced plant-based materials to create the globe’s first fully recyclable PET plastic bottle made entirely from renewable materials.”

Coke says the bottle is produced using patented technology that converts natural sugars found in plants such as sugarcane into the ingredients for making PET plastic bottles.

Coke envisions the new fully recyclable plastic for a variety of beverage container sizes.

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