Soda giant Coca-Cola is considered one of the world’s top plastic polluters, but it’s taking action to reduce its plastic waste and carbon footprint.
The company introduces a new 13.2-ounce bottle made from 100% rPET, a recycled plastic material (cap and label not included) in Florida, California, and select states in the Northeast, before launching nationwide over the summer. The new bottle reduces the use of new plastic, and it’s conveniently sized in a “more sippable package.”
The 13.2-ounce bottle will debut with Coca-Cola Flavors Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero Sugar first. These will be available starting this month. Then, the bottle will roll out across other sparkling beverage brands in the summer nationwide.
Coca-Cola is also introducing 20oz bottles made from 100% rPET (for Coca-Cola Flavors Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero Sugar) in California and New York beginning this month, then in Texas in the Spring.
In March, the company will transition DASANI to 20oz bottles made from 100% rPET.
In July, it will do the same for SmartWater.
By the end of the year, it will begin to move Sprite to clear packaging, which will make it easier for the bottles to be recycled. Next February, Sprite will be sold in the new 13.2oz bottles made from 100% rPET. And by the end of 2022, all Sprite packaging will be clear.
By introducing 100% rPET bottles in the U.S., Coca-Cola’s GHG emissions drop 10,000 metric tons annually – the equivalent of removing 2,120 cars from the road for one year.
These recent innovations are part of the company’s “World Without Waste” initiative announced in 2018, which intends to make all packaging recyclable by 2025, collect and recycle one bottle or can for each one it sells by 2030, and use 50% recycled material in bottles and cans by 2030.
Coca-Cola’s general manager of sustainability, Alpa Sutaria, said in a statement:
“Given our scale and resources, we realize our unique opportunity and clear responsibility to make a positive difference in the global plastic crisis, bringing us closer to our ambitious World Without Waste goals. Plastic is a valuable packaging resource, and these innovations in the U.S. represent meaningful action that focuses not just on what goes into the bottles, but on the innovation of the bottles themselves.”
Plastic waste is one of the top environmental concerns globally. Coca-Cola’s moves to incorporate the recycled bottles are a substantial step in addressing the worries, reducing the company’s use of new plastic by over 20% (compared to 2018) across the North American portfolio.
The company is also featuring an inspiring message on each 100% rPET package that reads: “Recycle Me Again.” It hopes to encourage action and remind everyone to reduce waste by participating in the circular economy and closed-loop recycling system. It’s the most significant on-package messaging effort by the company to date.
