Coca-Cola intends to collect and recycle equivalent of sold bottles by 2030
Coca-Cola announced the goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally by 2030. The company and its global network of bottling partners will tackle the ambitious goal, which is part of a holistic plan called “World Without Waste,” through a renewed focus on the entire packaging lifecycle – from how bottles and cans are designed and made, to how they’re recycled and repurposed.
Coke’s 100% collection and recycling goal will primarily focus on bottles, cans, and caps made from glass, PET plastic, or aluminium – which represent approximately 85% of its packaging – but also includes packages produced by other companies.
To help improve recycling rates, Coke will help educate the public on what, how and where to recycle. The company also will continue to team with local communities, NGOs, industry peers and consumers to help make recycling easier and more accessible for everyone by improving local recycling systems and driving policy change that supports a truly circular economy.
In 2002, Coca-Cola bottlers in Mexico joined the country’s plastics industry, and leaders from other industries, to create Ecology and Corporate Commitment (ECOCE), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to encouraging a culture of recycling, and funded the creation of two food-grade PET plastic recycling facilities. In 2016, Mexico recycled 57% of the PET plastic it produced (up from 9% in 2002), making it the leading country globally for PET recycling.
Photo: Workers separate PET plastics for recycling at the PetStar facility outside of Mexico City. PetStar, funded by Coca-Cola Mexico and seven regional bottling partners, is claimed to be the world’s largest food-grade bottle-to-bottle PET plastic recycling plant.
