Coca-Cola Nigeria to lighten plastic bottles in portfolio for easy recycling
NIGERIA – The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria has announced a modification to its product bottles that will lighten the packaging for easy collection and recycling.
The Director of Public Affairs, Communications, and Sustainability at Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, disclosed that the modification of the products’ bottles was on the backdrop of the menace plastic bottles cause in the environment when not properly disposed of for recycling.
She said the plans during the Annual System Beach Cleanup exercise held in Lagos, according to a statement from the firm.
Onyemelukwe said, “Coke bottle container was so thick that people used it to do all kinds of things and we acted. We are introducing light plastic. It is simply because we want to use light plastic so that after you use it, you can just shrink it with your hands. It takes less space, and you give in for recycling.”
According to her, Coca-Cola Nigeria wants to ensure that its packaging materials do not end up in the environment and that they do not commit nuisance, adding that most times people say Coca-cola is the highest polluter because people are choosing the beverages.
Through effective collaboration as well as partnerships with NGOs such as the Food and Beverage Recycling Alliance, FBRA, National Plastic Action Partnership, NPAP, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, EMF, and World Wildlife Fund WWF, Onyemelukwe said plastic waste and recycling challenges could be addressed and the impact could be accelerated.
Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Nigerian Bottling Company, Soromidayo George, pointed out that it is imperative to sort recyclables like PET from other household waste and take them to the recycling banks.
Since recycling PET can help reduce the annual volume of plastics entering the oceans by 80%, George explained it will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% and help generate income and create jobs, thereby contributing to the economic development of Nigeria.
Through its vision of World Without Waste, The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria is investing in the planet and in its packaging to collect and recycle a bottle or can for everyone it sells globally–regardless of where it comes from–by 2030.
Every year, The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria pulls together like-minded partners for a beach cleanup drive focused on eliminating plastic waste debris from beaches, ultimately preserving the shorelines of coastal communities.
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