Feb 11, 2021
The beverage giant – Coca-Cola is bringing in new bottles made from 100% recycled plastic material across its portfolio and its new innovations will reduce the use of new plastic by more than 20% compared to 2018.
Coca-Cola said the new packaging will be gradually rolled out during the first half of the year in select states for brands including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero Sugar, and Coca-Cola flavors, Fanta, Sprite and Dasani.
The company is creating a new smaller 13.2-ounce bottle size for many of its soft drinks that will used the recycled plastic, but will use recycled plastic in some 20-ounce bottles as well. Smartwater will introduce 18-ounce aluminum bottles this month and 20-ounce bottles made from recyclable material in July.
Coca-Cola is the among several companies in the food and beverage space looking to improve its environmental footprint by reducing its use of plastic, recycling more of the material or transitioning other offerings to aluminum.
For Coca-Cola, recyclable plastic is a major step in helping the soda, tea, water and sports drink maker achieve its own sustainability goals. In 2018, Coca-Cola pledged to collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one it sells by 2030, make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025 and use 50% recycled material in the company’s bottles and cans by 2030.
A shift toward recycled plastic may be a way to maintain the presence of the material for beverage makers while playing a role in reducing the company’s impact on the environment. Also getting rid of plastic altogether and using only aluminum and glass packaging could push up the company’s carbon footprint and hurt sales.