Coca-Cola plans transition to 100% R-PET bottles in UK

Coca-Cola UK will convert all of its in-use bottles to 100% recyclable PET from September 2021, according to a June 30 press release
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The move will mean that all beverage bottles of 500ml or less, including Coca-Cola Original, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dr.
Pepper and more, will be made from 100% recycled PET and will be sold in Full recycling in the UK by September
.

The move is estimated to save around 29,000 tonnes (equivalent to 2,292 double-decker buses) of virgin plastic annually, according to data from Coca-Cola Great Britain in partnership with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners
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Currently, Coca-Cola UK uses around 50% R-PET in its vials
.

Jon Woods, general manager of Coca-Cola UK, said: "This announcement marks an important step towards our goal of removing all non-recycled plastic from our bottles, with our global aim to help collect and recycle what we sell by 2025 every bottle or jar
.
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As the market for recyclable PET food-grade pellets, mainly used in beverage bottle production, faces an increasingly tight supply situation in the UK and Europe, some market players are wary of companies using more than the minimum recycled plastic content mandated by European and UK legislation
.

"It is true that one of the main challenges we currently face in the UK is that there is not enough local production of high-quality, food-grade recyclable plastics," a Coca-Cola UK spokesman said.
Working together to find more recycled material and be able to start the transition to 100% R-PET in our vials earlier than we previously expected
.
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In the UK, all plastic packaging that does not contain 30% recycled content will be subject to a £200/t ($277/t) tax by April 2022
.

In Europe, all plastic bottles placed on the market need to be made of 25% R-PET by 2025
.