Chief supply chain officer Ron Lewis said the purchase of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) directly supported the manufacturer’s ‘This is Forward’ sustainability plan.
“We’ve committed to ensuring that at least 50% of the material we use for our PET bottles comes from recycled plastic by 2025,” said Lewis. “This is part of a holistic strategy focused on creating a more circular packaging economy.”
CCEP expected to be using Loop rPET in its product packaging by early 2020.
Away from landfill
“Investments like this one with Loop Industries will help us divert more materials from landfills and build a stronger circular plastic economy,” Lewis added.
Loop is a provider of recycling technology that makes new sources of high-quality rPET available to producers, which previously could not be used due to colorant or other recyclability obstacles.
Daniel Solomita, founder and chief executive of Loop, added: “We are especially pleased to be able to assist Coca-Cola’s authorised bottlers as they work to meet their recycled content ambitions.”
Double recycled plastics
In July last year, CCEP revealed it was to double the amount of recycled plastic in its bottles by 2020, as part of a new packaging strategy.
Speaking at the time, vice president and general manager of CCEP GB Leendert den Hollander said: “Our goal is to work with local and national partners to ensure all of our packaging is recovered and recycled. Our new strategy sets out how we will start work to achieve that.
“We have focused on the actions we can take as a business – such as our ability to communicate to consumers on the importance of recycling – as well as the areas where we want to work in close collaboration with others to reduce litter and increase the recovery and recycling of plastic bottles.”
