CCEP completes full conversion to attached bottle caps

The phased roll out of attached plastic caps began two years ago, with its Morpeth, Northumberland factory to last to make the switch.

Supported by a £7.5m investment, the new bottle format keeps the cap connected to the bottle after opening in an attempt to make it easier to recycle the entire package.

When running at full capacity, Morpeth will be able to produce 17.5 million unit cases of attached cap plastic bottles of Glaceau Smartwater each year to be sold to customers across Britain.

Zero to landfill

Allan French, operations director at CCEP’s manufacturing site in Morpeth, said: “Morpeth has played a key role in the business’ sustainability journey over the years. We were the first site in GB to produce bottles in 100% rPET, and we’ve sent zero waste to landfill in over ten years. ​

“I’m proud of the strides we’re making to step up our sustainability journey. A big thank you to the whole team here at Morpeth, who work hard to make all these changes possible.”​

The move to attached caps on plastic bottles across CCEP’s portfolio was part of a suite of changes made by the business to create more opportunities for consumers to re-use or recycle packaging where possible.

Sustainability investment

This included the increase of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in 500ml plastic bottles from 50% to 100% and the roll out of sustainable cardboard outliers to replace plastic shrink wrap on all multi-pack cans.

CCEP vice president and general manager for Great Britain Stephen Moorhouse added: “We became the first major soft drinks producer in GB to introduce the innovative attached caps design on our plastic bottles back in 2022 and we’re pleased to have completed the transition across our portfolio of drinks we manufacture locally at our five sites.”​

“It’s initiatives like these that play a big part in our commitment towards achieving a World Without Waste and in accelerating our This is Forward sustainability strategy.”​

Meanwhile, the transition away from plastic packaging in consumer goods is moving too slowly​​ despite pledges from across the food and drink industry to use ‘environmentally friendly’ alternatives, according to a new study by Aquapak.