I don't know what the big deal is? The problem is plastic. PLASTIC. Bottle it in anything else besides plastic (glass, paper, cardboard, etc.) and, problem solved.
When I was a kid, most beverages either came in glass bottles, or wax-coated paper (cartons). Milk, orange juice, grape juice, apple juice, etc all came in a wax-covered card-stock that we called "cartons". I see no reason why soft-drink companies can't use that old, outdated technology to put their product in those same type of containers.
Glass can be melted down and re-used over and over again. It can also be ground down to a fine silicon "sand" which is currently being used down here in Florida to replace beaches washed away by tropical storms and hurricanes.