Whisky in a Paper Bottle

Drinks giant Diageo creates plastic-free paper-based spirits bottle and aims to begin bottling Johnnie Walker whisky using ‘world’s first’ design next year.

Following OGN's story in late May about the good news that Carlsberg and Coca-Cola were funding a pioneering project to make ‘all-plant’ drinks bottles, we now learn that the multinational drinks company, Diageo, has created the world’s first paper-based spirits bottle that is 100% plastic-free.

The company said it was aiming to launch the bottle early next year with its Johnnie Walker whisky brand in one market before rolling it out worldwide.

The bottle is made from sustainably sourced pulp, complies with international food and drink safety standards and is fully recyclable. The contents are protected by a liner, made of resin rather than plastic, which holds the liquid but disintegrates when finished. The cap will be made of aluminium.

Ewan Andrew, the chief sustainability officer at Diageo, said: “We’re proud to have created this world first. We are constantly striving to push the boundaries within sustainable packaging and this bottle has the potential to be truly groundbreaking. It feels fitting that we should launch it with Johnnie Walker, a brand that has often led the way in innovation through its 200-year existence.”

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