The Coca-Cola Co is to launch Coke bottles in the US made from 100% recycled plastic.
The move, announced today, will bring fully-recycled-plastic Coca-Cola brand bottles to the group’s home market for the first time, following similar moves abroad. The rPET bottles will roll out for Coke first, ahead of bottles for other brands including Dasani and Smartwater.
Go deeper with GlobalData
According to Coca-Cola, the switch to 100% rPET will reduce the company’s use of new plastic in North America by 20% compared to 2018.
Coca-Cola’s overseas bottling network has been at the forefront of the drive to 100% recycled plastic. A few months after Coca-Cola launched its global ‘World Without Waste’ initiative that set a goal of using 50% recycled plastic in bottles by 2025, Australia-based Coca-Cola Amatil unveiled 100% rPET bottles for Mount Franklin bottled water.
In 2019, Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) packaged three of Coca-Cola Co smaller beverage brands, including Honest Tea, in 100% recycled plastic. In the same year, CCEP rolled out 100%-recycled PET bottles across Sweden’s locally-sourced Coca-Cola portfolio, which includes Coke, Fanta and Sprite. Sweden was the Coca-Cola system’s first market to achieve the sustainability goal.
Commenting on the US launch, Coca-Cola’s North American GM for sustainability, Alpa Sutaria, said: “Plastic is a valuable packaging resource and these innovations in the US represent meaningful action that focus not just on what goes into the bottles, but on innovation of the bottles themselves.”
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataSuper Bowl LV – The drinks ads as they’re announced
