Coca-Cola to transition to 100% rPET bottles in Western Europe

Coca-Cola European Partners has announced that it will step up its commitment to eliminate virgin oil-based plastic by transitioning to 100% recycled plastic (rPET) bottles in two more markets. 

The transition, which will take place in the Netherlands and Norway, marks an important move towards a closed-loop recycling system that will be supported by local deposit return schemes in both countries. 

The news follows Coca-Cola’s announcement that its Swedish branch would become the first market to switch to 100% rPET in the first quarter of 2020.

From October 2020, Coca-Cola in the Netherlands will produce 100% rPET small bottles for brands including Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta. Larger bottles will follow in 2021, making it the second market to move its locally-produced portfolio to 100% rPET. 

The team hopes that the switch in the Netherlands will help to eliminate more than 10,000 tonnes of new virgin oil-based plastic each year, reducing the company’s footprint by 21%. 

In addition, Coca-Cola Norway will transition to 100% rPET during the first half of next year. The transition will remove approximately 4,300 tonnes of new virgin oil-based plastic a year, reducing the company’s carbon footprint by 28%. 

Joe Franses, vice president sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners said: “Today’s announcement that Coca-Cola European Partners Netherlands and Coca-Cola European Partners Norway are making the switch to 100% rPET marks a vitally important step forwards on our journey to eliminating new virgin oil-based plastic across all our plastic bottles within a decade.

“Crucially, this announcement provides a compelling case for the role that deposit return schemes can play in the creation of local circular economies for beverage packaging. Markets with well-designed DRS such as those in Sweden, the Netherlands and Norway not only have high collection rates but also have the capacity to collect a higher grade of material with less contamination.”

Franses continued: “Coca-Cola in Western Europe is a firm supporter of the implementation of well-designed deposit return schemes across Europe, recognising the role they can play as part of local, closed-loop recycling system. We also remain committed to supporting innovative packaging and recycling technologies to help us to reach our target of 50% recycled content across all our plastic bottles by 2023.”