The Cove lab in Chatsworth, California. By Cove’s estimates, its bottles will disintegrate in water and soil in under five years.
Photographer: Roger Kisby/BloombergThe First Biodegradable Water Bottle Is Coming, for Real This Time
With backers including James Murdoch and Diplo, Cove says its sustainable water bottle will retail at $2.99 a pop.
The Cove water bottle is a thin, sturdy cylinder, eggshell-white with a matching lid. It feels familiar. “If someone gave that to you,” offered Alex Totterman, Cove’s founder and chief executive, “you probably would have no idea that that wasn’t a plastic bottle.”
If someone does give you this bottle, it would be a remarkable achievement. Scientists and businesses have spent many years and much money trying to replace everyday packaging with natural materials that don’t pollute the Earth — so far, that’s given us little beyond compostable straws. But the challenge hasn’t deterred Cove from its own five-year journey to producing the first “fully biodegradable” bottle of water. In the coming months, Totterman says Cove’s creation will finally hit stores at $2.99 a pop.