The pilot project, which aims to collect 500,000 PET bottles annually during the pilot phase, has started in 36 Reliance Retail stores, including Smart Bazaar and Sahakari Bhandar stores in Mumbai and Delhi
Coca-Cola India and Reliance Retail announces Bhool Na Jana, Plastic Bottle Lautana initiative. (Credit: PR Newswire/ Coca-Cola India)
Coca-Cola India and Reliance Retail, the retail division of India-based Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), have launched a new polyethylene terephthalate (PET) collection and recycling scheme.
The sustainability initiative titled, Bhool Na Jana, Plastic Bottle Lautana, is aimed at post-consumer PET collection at Reliance Retail stores in Mumbai via Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) and collection bins.
The pilot project, which aims to collect 500,000 PET bottles annually during the pilot phase, has started in 36 Reliance Retail stores, including Smart Bazaar and Sahakari Bhandar stores in Mumbai and Delhi.
The initiative aligns with the Indian government’s Swachh Bharat Mission and is expected to expand to 200 stores by 2025 all over India.
Reliance Retail grocery retail CEO Damodar Mall said: “Indian families have had the habit of not trashing milk pouches, plastic bottles, even newspapers, daily. We clean, collect them, and hand them over to raddiwalas, who in today’s world are the unique front-end army of recyclers.
“SmartBazaar, as a modern retailer continues to encourage this habit, with modern methods. Our pilot with our store shoppers, with the support of Coca-Cola India and Reliance Industries, is one such attempt we plan to pursue with loans-cash.net wide network of stores.”
Under the scheme, customers will have an easy option to return used PET bottles through the installed RVMs and collection bins in exchange for attractive discounts on Coca-Cola India goods.
Reliance Industries, a firm known for the recycling of polyester and plastics, will gather and recycle the discarded PET bottles.
The scheme is expected to engage customers in responsible waste management and promote smooth waste collection.
Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia customer and commercial leadership vice-president Greishma Singh said: “Through this partnership and platform, we are delighted that we can generate awareness and give shoppers a convenient way to recycle their PET bottles while they are shopping at their Reliance store.
“Partnerships with retail, government, civic societies, and consumer-centric ideas like this one are a powerful multiplier for progress on collection, recycling, and reuse.”