CHINA – Multinational soft beverage manufacturer, the Coca-Cola Company, and its bottling partner Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong have relaunched iconic glass bottles for eight beverages to achieve its mission of a “World Without Waste”.
The eight flavors that will kick off this sustainability move are classic Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes Cream Soda, Soda Water, Kochakaden, Craftea Lemon Tea, and Peach Tea.
The re-launch will be transferred to other brands later on but the company did not specify the time period.
The company is maintaining the classic “contour” glass bottle for the beverage Coca-Cola, whereas other brands under the company, like Sprite, Fanta, Schweppes, and Kochakaden, will be filled in newly-designed bottles.
Both designs will be transparent, sleeker, and cleaner offering convenience to the consumers to return the bottles after use for the bottling plant to clean, disinfect and refill.
Director for Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability, Steve Deng said: “The world has a packaging problem. Being the world’s biggest beverage company, we have a responsibility to help solve it. This new design is part of our action to minimize waste in the market.”
The second initiative Coca-Cola has explored in its sustainability program is using 60 percent recycled glass material in the making of Hong Kong’s bottles which is making them one-thirds lighter than before, and each bottle can contain up to 250ml of beverage and are packed into boxes of 12.
Coca-Cola is targeting to make its packaging 100% recyclable by 2025 and use 50% recycled material in its bottles and cans by 2030 in a bid to minimize waste.
Many people have welcomed the move by Coca-Cola however Ibnur, who is the founder of a sustainability-focused invention study, expressed concern about the steps of the recycling process and its immediate impact on the environment.
Ibnur said: “If the glass is brittle, it may break during transport compared to plastic. This can lead to food waste. In the re-making of new materials and considering the ecological footprint involved, it’s not only about energy, but the electricity and water required.”
He concluded by urging Coca-Cola to bear those factors in mind and have researchers, scientists, and engineers look into the aspects, like comparing energy consumption, shipping, and the amount of fuel required before Coca-Coke starts to reinvent itself sustainably.
Greenspace had previously criticized Coca-Cola for the amount of plastic waste found in its Asia audit, but Coca-Cola responded by highlighting the sustainability strategies that it has put in place to address the matter.
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