INDIA – Coca-Cola bottling partners in India, Moon Beverages Limited and SLMG Beverages Limited, have launched 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) 250ml and 750ml bottles for its flagship brand Coke. as Coca-Cola India moves to embrace plastic circularity.
The company claims that the method of recycling plastic used to create these bottles complies with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) criteria for food-grade recycled material.
The new launch of two different sizes of (rPET) bottles aims to complement the earlier release in June of the one-liter size bottle currently used to package its drinking water brand, Kinley.
The new recycled plastic bottles are 100% food-grade rPET, excluding caps and labels, and will bear a “Recycle Me Again” call to action and a “100% recycled PET bottle” display aimed at driving consumer awareness.
“Recycled PET is a big move in the right direction to embrace plastic circularity in India,” said Sanjeev Agarwal, chairman of Coca-Cola’s franchise bottling partner Moon Beverages
“Our new bottles made with food-grade rPET are recyclable and can become another bottle giving it another life.”
Moon Beverages, which also makes Sprite drink and Minute Maid juices, said it offers 100% rPET bottles in over 40 markets, bringing it closer to its objective of making bottles with 50% recycled content by 2030.
Enrique Ackermann, the vice president, of technical and innovation of Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, praised the innovation saying it will increase recycled content in their packaging, expand the use of refillable bottles, and enhance their packaging recycling ability through their World Without Waste initiative.
Coca-Cola India offers drop-off points or Reverse Vending Machines to make it easier for consumers to recycle bottles.
The company also started a ‘Return and Recycle’ project with Zepto, which aims to collect PET bottles directly from customers.
This tool aids in establishing a systematic procedure for gathering PET bottles with complete traceability.
Meanwhile, in August Coca-Cola India launched a 100 percent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) water bottle.
The food-grade rPET will be produced by Srichakra Polyplast India Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, India, on a Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line.
“We are proud to supply the recycled PET resin for India’s first beverage bottle that is made from 100 percent rPET,” said Ravindra PV, managing director at Srichakra Polyplast.
“With Starlinger’s PET recycling process, which has received positive opinions from EFSA [The European Food Safety Authority] and approvals from FSSAI [Food Safety and Standards Authority of India], we ensure thorough decontamination of the PET in the recycling process and produce food-safe rPET pellets for PET bottle preform production and other types of food packaging.”
Coca-Cola India will use the new rPET bottle for its packaged water brand, Kinley, which is sold in 33-ounce bottles.
The launch of the rPET bottle became possible after FSSAI approved the use of recycled PET in food packaging, following a thorough food safety review of the material.
