UK – Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) in partnership with Coca-Cola Great Britain (CCGB) is introducing new, attached caps to its plastic bottles, making it easier to recycle the entire package and ensuring no cap gets left behind.
With the new design, Coca-Cola is confident that the whole plastic bottle and attached cap can be recycled together reducing the potential for it to be littered while still giving consumers a positive drinking experience.
Consumers in Scotland and the North of England will start to see new caps attached to 1.5litres bottles of Fanta, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, and Diet Coke, a statement from CCEP revealed.
The production of the bottles with attached caps will begin today at CCEP’s site in East Kilbride, Scotland, followed later this year by its site in Edmonton, North London.
The design will also be transferred to all plastic bottles across Coca-Cola GB’s range and the switch is set to be completed for the brands by early 2024.
This partnership makes Coca-Cola the first major soft drinks company to announce the switch across its entire range in Great Britain.
Stephen Moorhouse, General Manager at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Great Britain said the start of the production of these new designs follows a £32million (US$ 34.28 million) investment into the site since 2017.
Last year, CCEP announced that it had reached its target of using 100% recycled plastic, excluding caps and labels in all its 500ml or smaller bottles sold in Great Britain ahead of schedule, helping to save around 29,000 tons of plastic per year.
The announcement follows CCEP’s transition to Shrink to Board packs at the business’ Sid cup manufacturing site last year, alongside light-weighting of its aluminum cans, which are now 22% lighter than in 2020 and 2019.
Seamus Kerrigan, Operations Director at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in East Kilbride, said: The milestone follows significant investment in our production lines to prepare for this – and other manufacturing innovations well-known global brands in the most sustainable way…
“Last year saw the introduction of on-the-go bottles made from 100% recycled plastic, and the transition from plastic to paper straws on Capri-Sun, the largest children’s juice drink brand, which is also produced here.”
Coca-Cola has also announced major initiatives both globally and locally to help create a “circular economy” for plastic, which is key to Coca-Cola’s ambition to create a World Without Waste.
By 2030, the company aims to have at least 25% of all beverages globally across its portfolio of brands sold in refillable/returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in refillable containers through the traditional fountain or Coca-Cola Freestyle dispensers.
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