Coca-Cola to Transition to Fully Recycled Plastic for 500ML Bottles in Canada

By Adriano Marchese

Coca-Cola will be transition away from using virgin plastic for its half-liter bottles in Canada, opting for fully-recycled plastic instead.

The beverage giant said Thursday all its 500 milliliter bottles will be made with 100% recycled plastic bottles, saving 7.6 million pounds of new plastic in 2024.

Vice President and General Manager of Sustainability of Coca-Cola North America Kurt Ritter said the hope is that by transitioning its 500ml-sparkling portfolio to recycled plastic will increase the amount of high-quality, food-grade, recycled plastic available in Canada which would allow Coca-Cola to offer more of its brands in this sustainable format.

The move is part of Coca-Cola's World Without Waste objective which aims for the company to use 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2030 as well as reduce the use of virgin plastic. The initiative was launched in 2018.

The new recycled bottles will be produced locally by Coke Canada Bottling in manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and British Columbia.

While the bottles themselves will be transitioned to fully recycled plastic, the company noted that caps and labels won't be.

This isn't Coca-Cola's first venture into recycled plastics. In 2021, the company debuted its 13.2-ounce bottles of Coca-Cola Trademark brands in 100% recycled plastics in California, Florida and other states in the U.S.' Northeast.

Coca-Cola is also partnering with other tech companies to create bottle prototypes made from plant-based sources.

Write to Adriano Marchese at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2023 10:56 ET (14:56 GMT)

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