Coca-Cola announce major increase in recycled plastic

Coca-Cola Australia and Coca-Cola Amatil have announced that by the end of 2019, 70 per cent of the companies’ plastic bottles will be made entirely from recycled plastic.

The announcement forms part of the Coca-Cola group’s global commitment to helping the world’s packaging problem.

The world’s largest beverage company said the change will involve products 600 millilitre and under from brands such as Coca-Cola, Fanta, Fuze Tea as well as 750 millilitre Pump.

Coca-Cola Australia president Vamsi Mohan Thati said the company has a responsibility to help solve the plastic waste crisis.

“This is a big commitment to recycled plastic – the largest of its kind by a beverage company in Australia – and will significantly reduce the impact of our business on the environment.”

Mr Thati said Coca-Cola have a long history of supporting environmental partners in Australia, and over the past two years have invested more than $1 million towards cleaning up marine debris, improving access to recycling in public places, and developing innovative solutions to recycle plastic waste.

The company also has a 40-year history operating South Australia’s container deposit scheme, which pays 10 cents for all eligible beverage containers returned for recycling.

Coca-Cola also operates the container scheme in the Northern Territory, and is involved in the programs in Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

Coca-Cola Amatil Managing Director of Australian Beverages Peter West said the increase in the use of recycled plastic means the company will avoid using 16,000 tonnes of virgin plastic each year.

“We’ve heard the community message loud and clear – that unnecessary packaging is unacceptable and we need to do our part to reduce it nationwide,” Mr West said.

“It’s the single largest increase in recycled plastic use in our history, and our strongest step forward in reducing packaging waste and the environmental impact of our operations.”

Mr West said Amatil’s increased use of recycled plastic follows initiatives such as the elimination of plastic straws, support for cost-effective well-run container deposit schemes and the company’s support for the 2025 national packaging targets.

“Our landmark transition to use 100 per cent recycled plastic in bottles began with Mount Franklin Still Pure Australian Spring Water in 2018. Following extensive research and development, this will now roll out across other brands in bottles 600 millilitre and under, across Coca-Cola’s soft drink, water and juice products,” Mr West said.

Coca-Cola Australia and Coca-Cola Amatil support a number of grassroots initiatives to help collect and recycle beverage containers including CitizenBlue, Keep Australia Beautiful, and Eco Barge Clean Seas.

Both companies also support The Coca-Cola Company’s 2020 global goal of reducing waste by collecting and recycling as many cans and bottles as it sells each year.

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