Coca-Cola and Asahi Beverage sign a contract!

Asahi Beverages (Asahi Beverages) and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) have signed an agreement (MOU) to form a joint venture that will construct and operate a new PET recycling facility
.
Under the treaty, the parties intend to jointly provide an industry model for recycling solutions in Australia
.

This will include the new facility as well as the current PET recycling facility in Wodonga being built by Pact Group, Cleanaway and Asahi Beverages through Circular Plastics Australia (PET), which is expected to be completed later this year
.
The proposed facility will greatly facilitate recycling in Australia through a container storage scheme and curbside recycling of raw plastic materials collected
.

Facilities using state-of-the-art technology

About one billion bottles are expected to be processed annually, producing more than 20,000 tons of new recycled PET bottles and food packaging
.
The facility will use state-of-the-art sorting, washing, decontamination and extrusion technologies
.

Cross-industry solutions combine the complementary expertise of each participant to advance their individual sustainability goals
.
Cleanaway will provide available PET through its collection and sorting network, Pact will provide technology and packaging expertise, and CCEP, Asahi Beverages and Pact will purchase recycled PET from the facility for use in their respective products
.
When the plant is fully operational, it will be operated by Pact
.

A decision on the plant site is expected in the next few months, with construction expected to be completed in 2023
.
CCEP and Asahi Beverages, for the purpose of this joint venture, joined forces with Pact and Cleanaway to increase the production and availability of recycled PET resin in Australia
.
The proposed plant is an important step in building a local circular economy for plastics in Australia
.

This new self-sustaining industry is expected to create dozens of new jobs during the construction and operation of factories
.
Describing the deal, Peter West, CCEP Vice President and General Manager Australia, Pacific and Indonesia, said: "This new joint venture will provide collaborative solutions across industries to recycle the materials we use to make our products
.
We can work together to create a circular economy for PET within the beverage industry, ensuring we use more locally processed recycled content in our bottles in Australia
.

Robert Iervasi, CEO of Asahi Beverages Group, said, "This will be a ground-breaking project that will significantly increase PET recycling capacity
.
It will help change the way recycling is done in Australia by providing a new local source of high quality recycled PET
.
Building this large rPET plant, as well as the one in Albury-Wodonga, is an important step in helping us deliver a true circular economy to consumers
.
"