Coca‑Cola offers beverages in a variety of packaging formats – glass and plastic bottles, aluminium cans and refillable packaging. Each option can play a role in helping reduce packaging waste and emissions. We are focusing efforts to use more recycled material in our primary packaging along with supporting collection rates, both of which require enabling policies and the growth of collection infrastructure.

 

We aim to focus on measurable and interconnected actions under two pillars:

 

Design

Aim to use 35% to 40% recycled material* in our primary packaging (plastic, glass and aluminium), including increasing recycled plastic use to 30% to 35% globally by 2035.

 

Partner to Collect

Help ensure the collection of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually by 2035.

 

*Excluding cap and label Our Global Ambition

 

Global challenges like plastic waste and pollution are far too great for any single government, company, or industry to solve individually. Through collaboration with local and global partners, The Coca‑Cola Company will continue to expand its design innovations, explore new collection models or improve existing ones, invest in local infrastructure and engage with policymakers.

 

Global Timeline

1991: Introduced first-ever plastic bottle made with recycled content

2004: Formed PET Recycling Company (PETCO), the South African plastic industry’s initiative to recycle 100% of its PET plastic output

2009: Introduced PlantBottle, using 30% plant-based materials in place of petroleum

2011: Invested in major expansion of PetStar, now the largest food-grade PET bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in the world

2018-January: Introduced Mexican bottled water brand Ciel in 100% recycled plastic bottles2018-June: Launched South African PETCO model in Kenya, in partnership with Kenya Association of Manufacturers

2018-September: Co-founded World Economic Forum Global Plastic Action Partnership

2018-October: Invested in Circulate Capital, an impact-investment firm aiming to keep plastic waste out of the world’s oceans

2018-December: Shared proprietary technology behind PlantBottle to foster bioplastics in packaging

2019-March: The Coca‑Cola Foundation announced USD $5.4 million in grants to support innovative recycling pilots in seven U.S. locales

2019-June: Initiated the creation of PETCO Ethiopia—the Ethiopian plastic industry’s initiative to recycle 100% of its PET plastic output

2019-June: Coca‑Cola Vietnam partnered with several leading food and beverage companies to establish the country’s first industry-led Packaging Recovery Organization

2019-July: The Coca‑Cola Australia Foundation announced grants of up to USD $600,000 to tackle marine pollution in Australian coastal and inland waterways

2019-August: Coca‑Cola Beverages Philippines (CCBP) announced investment in a new bottle-to-bottle recycling facility that will be operational in 2021

2019-September: ALBA Group Asia Limited, Baguio Waste Management & Recycling Limited and Swire Coca‑Cola Limited broke ground on a joint venture to build Hong Kong’s first food-grade PET and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastic recycling plant

2019-October: Coca‑Cola India joined peer companies as a key stakeholder to set up India’s first industry-formed, -owned and -managed multi-material packaging recycling organization — Circular Sustainability Solutions Private Limited — with the goal of collecting half a million metric tons of used packaging by 2025

2019-November: Introduced minimalist paperboard packaging solution KeelClip™ for multipack cans in Europe, expected to save 2,000 tons of plastic and 3,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually

2019-November: PRAISE (Packaging and Recycling Alliance for Indonesia Sustainable Environment) announced the Packaging Recovery Organization for Indonesia to improve plastic collection and recycling

2019-December: As of end of year 2019, 16 markets offered beverages packaged in 100% recycled PET (rPET) bottles

2020: Nearly 30 markets offer beverages packaged in 100% recycled PET (rPET) bottles*

*Excludes cap & label

2020: Set a new goal to reduce our use of virgin plastic derived from non-renewable sources by a cumulative 3 million metric tons over the next five years

2022: Coca‑Cola Great Britain began the phased rollout of attached caps. The innovative design ensured that the cap that stays connected to the bottle after opening we are reducing the potential for it to be lost or become litter, while still giving consumers an enjoyable drinking experience.

2024: The Coca‑Cola Company announced updated environmental goals, including for packaging, focusing efforts to use more recycled material in its primary packaging along with supporting collection rates, both of which require enabling policies and the growth of collection infrastructure.

* The company will continue to comply with local regulations, including where higher percentages of recycled content are required.

 

What are we doing in Great Britain?

Closer to home, we’ve taken steps to make a meaningful difference. This includes investing in state-of-the-art recycling facilities, including the Lincolnshire-based Clean Tech plant, Europe’s largest plastic recycling facility. Our goal is to help ensure the collection of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually by 2035​.

 

Collecting and recycling packaging also means potentially giving packages more than one life​. To help achieve this goal, we support the announcement that a deposit return scheme (DRS) will be implemented in October 2027; a move that will support our ambition to recycle every single can and bottle we put onto the market.

 

To make sure DRS is a success, we must have truly interoperable schemes in place across England, Scotland and Wales. Having a common approach will ensure we have a best-in class system in place.

 

Collective action is needed to support packaging collection infrastructure and policies. The company will continue to focus on increased advocacy for well-designed collection systems across Great Britain, as these are often the most efficient ways to improve packaging collection rates.  

 

What else are we doing in Great Britain?

Here are some things we’ve been doing for the past 20 years – and are continuing to support and invest in – which we believe will encourage recycling and litter reduction:

• Reducing the use of coloured rPET in our packaging, to make our bottles easier to recycle. We’ve turning Sprite from green to clear, alongside other bottles across our portfolio
• Investing in Research and Development to improve the design and reduce the amount of packaging we use. This includes ‘lightweighting’ bottles, improving secondary packaging and exploring new, environmentally friendly materials
• Looking at different ways of delivering our drinks, such as with refillable packaging and dispensed systems
• Supporting recycling programmes and infrastructure to better recover our bottles and cans for reuse
• Funding partnerships that protect and clean up our seas and waterways. For example, our projects with WWF and the Rivers Trust
• Working with organisations such as WWF, Ocean Conservancy and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, on initiatives such as the New Plastics Economy
• Sponsoring clean-ups, such as the International Coastal Cleanup, the largest single-day volunteer event that helps clean the world’s waterways

We’re also working with many of our partners, suppliers and NGOs to help make recycling easier for everyone.  

 

In 2022, Coca‑Cola announced the availability of an innovative new design for our bottles across Great Britain. While our bottles have been recyclable for many years, the caps themselves – which are also recyclable – have often been forgotten about and discarded.

By having a cap that stays connected to the bottle after opening we are reducing the potential for it to be lost or become litter, while still giving consumers an enjoyable drinking experience.

The new attached caps design was initially implemented on 1.5L bottles of:

• Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar
• Diet Coke
• Fanta Zero

 

Following the success of attached caps, Coca‑Cola Great Britain extended the roll out of attached caps to our 500ml bottles as well, as part of a packaging development across our entire portfolio, which will help to improve recycling rates and prevent waste.