Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PNG recycles over 29M plastic bottles in 2025

PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Papua New Guinea (CCEP PNG) has reached a major sustainability milestone, recycling more than 29 million PET bottles through its collection programs in Port Moresby and Lae during 2025.

The volume collected translates to approximately 791 tonnes of plastic, underscoring the growing impact of structured bottle collection and recycling initiatives in the Pacific region, where plastic waste management remains a significant environmental challenge.

According to CCEP PNG, the amount of material recovered would be enough to cover around 15 rugby fields or fill seven Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The collection program was launched in 2023 in partnership with local recycler Branis Recycling and was initially focused on Port Moresby.

In 2025, the initiative was expanded to Lae, helping to drive a sharp increase in collection volumes compared with the 474 tonnes recovered in 2024.

Under the scheme, members of the public are incentivized to return used PET bottles in exchange for K1.00 per kilogram. Branis Recycling then processes the bottles by shredding and preparing the material for export to overseas recycling facilities.

The export logistics are supported by Swire Shipping through the Moana Taka Partnership, which aims to improve waste recovery and circular economy outcomes across Pacific Island nations.

CCEP PNG country director Tim Solly said the milestone reflects strong collaboration between industry, local communities and logistics partners.

He noted that the program has evolved beyond Coca-Cola’s own packaging and now accepts PET bottles from all beverage manufacturers operating in the country.

“This is about reducing plastic leakage into the environment at scale,” Solly said, adding that the company is encouraging more beverage producers to participate to further strengthen collection volumes and shared responsibility for packaging waste.

The initiative aligns with Coca-Cola’s global sustainability commitments, including increased use of recycled content and improved collection rates for packaging placed on the market.

For PNG, where formal recycling infrastructure is limited, the program demonstrates how incentive-based collection models combined with local processing and international partnerships can deliver measurable results.

Industry observers note that such corporate-led programs are increasingly important in emerging and island markets, where extended producer responsibility frameworks are still developing.

By integrating community engagement, financial incentives and export-ready processing, the CCEP PNG model is being viewed as a replicable approach for tackling plastic waste in small and geographically dispersed markets.

As momentum builds, CCEP PNG said it will continue to scale the program and work with additional partners to support a cleaner environment and a more circular plastics economy in Papua New Guinea.

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