Beverage Companies Go Sustainable With Biodegradable Plastics, Ramped Up Recycling

Coca-Cola ( nyse: KO ) announced plans today to invest $24 million, along with ECO Plastics Ltd. (which will contribute about $5 million of that) to build a new, plastic bottle recycling facility in Lincolnshire, England. In recent weeks, the company also struck a landmark deal to sell its 30 percent plant-based plastic to Heinz, which will begin to use it in ketchup and condiments packaging in June. Another major beverage player, SodaStream ( nasdaq: SODA ) announced today that it will soon ship its flavored syrups in bottles that can decompose in a landfill in five years. Regular plastic bottles take 450 years to decompose, according to general waste industry estimates...