The Coca-Cola Company, which has been a major contributor to the plastic bottle overload that our planet has been suffering from over the last couple decades, has started to make headway towards becoming more sustainable. Reps from Coke said that they are developing a new plastic bottle that is partly made from sugar cane and molasses, raising the bar in the battle for the most environmentally friendly packaging.

The Coca-Cola Company will test the new bottle in the US with Dasani bottled water and a few of their different carbonated brands later on this year. The eco-friendlier bottle test will further expand to the Vitamin Water brand in 2010.

30% of the new plant-based bottle will be made from a material derived from sugar cane and molasses, which is a by-product of sugar production, Coke said. Coca-Cola’s biggest rivals in the beverage universe, PepsiCo Inc and Nestle are also introducing lighter-weight bottles that use less plastic.