SOUTH AFRICA – Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has launched a R9 (US$ 0.48) reward scheme for its customers for returning refillable PET (RefPET) bottles, which has benefits for both consumers and the environment.

The company said its customers can put forward the stipulated cash deposit towards their next purchase of the desired Coca-Cola brand.

The recommended retail price for the 2L Coca-Cola Original Taste – Less Sugar beverage is R16, which excludes a R9 deposit. Other brands, like Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, and Fanta, are also available in the new 2L returnable PET plastic bottle at a recommended retail price of R14 excluding the R9 deposit.

This means a saving of around R9 per bottle, depending on where a customer purchases their favorite beverage.

The scheme is part of CCBSA’s efforts to create awareness about our innovative refillable pack, which has benefits for both consumers and the environment.

Once a bottle is returned to CCBSA, it goes on a looped journey to be cleaned per Coca-Cola’s stringent measures and requirements, then refilled to start its next lifecycle.

When the bottle reaches the end of its useable lifecycle, it joins the recycling value chain and is repurposed into another PET product.     

As part of its responsibility to help address the challenges that packaging is costing the planet, CCBSA, a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA), and a bottler for The Coca-Cola Company, has committed to help collect a bottle or can for every single one it sells by 2030.

The beverage company also says it will use 50% recycled content in all packaging and make 25% of its packaging reusable by the same year while making all its packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.  

At the start of the year, CCBSA said it will roll out its innovative 2L returnable also known as refillable PET bottle (RefPET) in Mangaung in the Free State and Northern Cape, as part of its commitment to reduce environmental waste.

Velaphi Ratshefola, CCBSA’s Managing Director, said the consumer response to the new 2L returnable PET bottles has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Where we have launched RefPET, we have seen consumers switching to purchasing the returnable 2L bottles and returning them after consumption. This is what we envisioned with this innovation to encourage consumers to return the bottles for reuse, for as long as the bottle passes the quality test. We are excited about this next phase of the project in the two provinces, “ explained Ratshefola.

The returnable PET bottles are identifiable by a new paper label, with ‘RETURNABLE’ appearing in green on the front of the bottle.

To start the communities and households on this loop, the company will give each household a 2L RefPET sample that they can exchange for a deposit when they buy any of the products available in a 2L RefPET from the local store.

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