The sustainable initiative will help Coca-Cola to increase PET bottle collection and recycling
Image: The Sprite in clear PET bottle. Photo: courtesy of THE COCA-COLA COMPANY.
Coca-Cola has replaced the green bottle with clear PET bottles for Sprite in Southeast Asia, as part of its recycling initiative in the region.
The switching from green colour will make the PET bottles easy for recycling, said the company.
Coca-Cola ASEAN public affairs, communications and sustainability director Belinda Ford said: “We are beginning the transition this month in the Philippines, our largest market in ASEAN, and will expand to other markets in Southeast Asia through 2020.”
Coca-Cola will also replace green bottles with clear PET bottles for Sprite in Western Europe
The replacement in Southeast Asia follows a similar act in Western Europe, where the company will change the colour of its Sprite bottles.
The move is one of Coca-Cola’s initiatives to achieve its global World Without Waste goals.
Coca-Cola’s global World Without Waste goal will enable to collect and recycle a bottle or can for every-one, which it markets by 2030.
Sprite has been marketing in green bottles in ASEAN since it was first introduced in the Philippines in 1968.
Besides, the company announced that will collaborate with companies across the industry to boost packaging collection and recycling rates sustainably.
At the “SEA of Solutions” event, Coca-Cola announced that it will work with industry peers to create Packaging Recovery Organisations (PROs) in ASEAN. The first PRO is expected to be operational in early 2020 in Vietnam.
In a statement, GA Circular CEO and founder Ashwin Subramaniam said: “Our research in six countries across Southeast Asia has shown that a change from coloured PET to transparent PET greatly increases the value of the plastic in the after-use market and therefore its ability to remain in a circular economy and be used again and again for different purposes.
“Phasing out the use of coloured PET beverage packaging is a key recommendation in our new report on accelerating the circular economy for post-consumer PET bottles in Southeast Asia and we applaud the decision by Coca-Cola to make the switch.”
In October this year, Coca-Cola has unveiled new bottles made partly from recovered and recycled sea plastic.