Two-liter bottle

US market Coke Zero bottles, showing 2 L (70.4 imp fl oz; 67.6 US fl oz) US Customary conversion.
Russian market 2.5 liter, 2 liter and 1.5 liter beer bottles.

The two-liter bottle is a common container for soft drinks. These bottles are produced from polyethylene terephthalate, also known as PET plastic, using the blow molding process. Bottle labels consist of a printed, tight-fitted plastic sleeve. A resealable screw-top allows the contents to be used at various times while retaining carbonation.

In the United States, the two liter bottle is one of the few cases where a product is sold by a round number of metric units. Since very few other beverages are sold in this exact quantity, the term "two-liter" in American English almost invariably refers to a soft drink bottle. Other common metric sizes for plastic soft drink bottles include 500 milliliters, 1 liter and 3 liters.

In many Eastern European countries such as Russia or Slovakia, plastic bottles are used for selling beer as well.

History

PepsiCo introduced the first two-liter sized soft drink bottle in 1970.[1] The bottle was invented by a team led by Nathaniel Wyeth of DuPont who received the patent in 1973.[2] In 1985, a three-liter bottle appeared on supermarket shelves. The design is still used to this day by some bottlers.[3][4] Most modern-day two-liter bottles are one piece of PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) with a base that is molded with a radial corrugation to provide strength for the bottom and the ability to stand upright. Most early two-liters had a separate opaque base glued to the hemispherical bottom of the clear PET flask. This base had a coaxial corrugation and drain holes. It was abolished in the 1990s, in part due to difficulties recycling the two separate plastics.

Recycling

Used two-liter bottles see new life in a variety of uses including carpeting, boat hulls, polyester fabric, filling for jackets, sleeping bags, mattresses, pillows, recycling bins, scouring pads, and on an increasing scale, new soft drink bottles.[5]

Inventive uses

See also

References

  1. "PepsiCo - Company - History". PepsiCo. 2006.
  2. Nathaniel C. Wyeth (Filed November 30, 1970, Issued May 15, 1973). "US Patent 3733309 Biaxially Oriented Plastic Bottle, via Google.com". Retrieved 2007-02-19. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. Maidenberg, H.J. (January 13, 1985). "PROSPECTS;Endangered Species". New York times. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  4. "Alabama Business Hall of Fame to Celebrate 25th Anniversary". C&BA News. September 30, 1998.
  5. "Best Practices and Industry Standards in PET Plastic Recycling" (PDF). NAPCOR. 2003.
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