Coca-Cola Co will sell its popular sodas in bottles made from 100% recycled plastic material in the United States, the beverage maker said on Tuesday, in a major shift to combat plastic waste and reduce its carbon footprint. The initial items will be introduced this month in a group of states that includes California and Florida, for items such as Coke and Diet Coke in 13.2-ounce bottles made from 100% recycled plastic.
Concerns about plastic waste “continue to be top of mind for our consumers,” said Alpa Sutaria, vice president for sustainability in North America, adding that the steps unveiled Tuesday are “a major milestone in a large and complex market.”
The soda and beverage giant, criticized for being one of the biggest producers of plastic waste, pledged a couple of years ago to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one it sells globally by 2030. The company will start rolling out the new 13.2oz bottles of Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero Sugar, Coca-Cola Flavors this month in select states in the Northeast, Florida and California. Sprite will come in a new 13.2oz clear bottle packaging in select markets this month and will transition all packaging to clear bottles by the end of 2022.
“We realize our unique opportunity and clear responsibility to make a positive difference in the global plastic crisis,” said Alpa Sutaria, the company’s vice president, Sustainability, North America Operating Unit. The company which has been named a top plastic polluter by a leading NGO will distribute additional soda and bottled water items from completely recycled packages in select markets this month and later this year.
The US is the 19th market worldwide where Coca-Cola now sells item entirely made of recycled packaging, the company said on its website. The new measures amount to a 20% reduction in the company’s use of new plastic across North America compared to 2018.
In December, the group Break Free From Plastic placed Coca-Cola, along with PepsiCo and Nestle, as the world’s “top plastic polluters” for the third year in a row and called on the groups to end single-use plastic packaging worldwide.
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