The largest Swiss retail company, Migros, is now producing the first-ever carbon capture PET bottle made out of extracted CO2 emissions that would have otherwise been emitted into the air, further aggravating the global climate crisis.
PET is short for polyethylene terephthalate, which is a type of polyester that is used to mold plastic bottles and other packaging containers for food, beverages, hygiene products, as well as a range of other consumer products.
Carbon Capture Revolution
Migros first embarked on its journey of embracing CO2 recycling in 2020, when it started selling a line of liquid cleaning products that were based on CarbonSmart Ethanol from manufacturer LanzaTech. These products can still be purchased from Migros supermarkets in Switzerland.
An even wider range of products the packaging of which is based on recycled CO2 emissions can be found today. These include, but are not limited to, juices, smoothies, household cleaning chemicals, etc., all of which are contained in PET bottles produced from carbon dioxide removal processes.
The supermarket chain expects to add mouthwash and liquid soaps to the list of CO2 PET bottled products.
So far, PET is usually obtained from petroleum, whereas in this new range of products, as much as 30% of the PET used is made from captured CO2 emissions. And the CarbonSmart Ethanol from LanzaTech is made from CO2 released during the production of steel.
So not only does the packaging meet the pharmaceutical and food requirements of the products it is intended for, but it also contributes to cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preserving biodiversity without the need of using land or food resources.
The ability itself to walk into a store and buy products that have been manufactured from CO2 emissions and have even been packaged in bottles produced from those very same emissions is groundbreaking, according to Jennifer Holmgren, CEO of LanzaTech.
And the partnership between Lanzatech and Migros, she said, is demonstrating to the world the carbon capture utilization and storage possibilities for transforming waste carbon into “from a problem into an opportunity“.
