Coca-Cola UK makes major change as Australia explores options
After a major change in bottle design overseas, a major soft drink manufacturer said that it was looking into ways to make their bottles more environmentally friendly.
The UK branch has introduced Coca-Cola soft drink bottles that have a cap attached so the whole thing can be recycled. The Australian arm is working on a method to make bottle caps more recyclable.
The UK bottle cap reads, “I am attached to recycle.”
In 2022, the bottle caps that are attached to the seal will become part of the Coca-Cola brand. This includes Fanta, Sprite, and Fanta.
Not everyone was on board with the UK branch’s move to attach bottle caps.
One social media user suggested that “They should implement a metal caps system and people could return the caps to get a dollar off for a certain number of caps.”
One person said that they had not realized and continued to rip the caps off the bottles.
News.com.au contacted Coca-Cola to confirm that this move will be implemented in Australia. The brand revealed it was exploring various sustainability options.
Coca-Cola Australia spokesperson said: “We are constantly exploring options to collect and recycling our bottlecaps, including packaging solutions which work with our local recycle infrastructure.”
“We are also working with industry and government bodies on initiatives to improve the collection and recycling of bottle caps. We are committed to reducing waste, recycling, collecting, and innovating packaging.
“Earlier this week, we announced that the iconic green Sprite bottles will be made of clear plastic to make them easier to recycle. All our plastic bottles and aluminum cans are recyclable. The plastic in our bottles below a liter comes from high-quality recycled PET.
Many councils in Australia and their recycling programs approach the recycling of bottle caps differently.
Others say that caps should be left on bottles and placed in a recycling bin. This is because they can damage machines. Others say that caps should be stored in a can or bottle of the same type.
On the Coca-Cola Australia website, it says: “We think the best way to make sure that your bottle, cap, and label reach a recycling facility and have a chance of being used again, is to leave them on when recycling.”
Always check local rules. We know some areas have different rules.
This is not the first attempt by the company to make their products more environmentally friendly.
Sprite’s iconic green bottles have been around for 60 years, but the US division of the global beverage company has announced that the bottles will now be in the clear. Australia just confirmed that it will follow suit.
Current bottles are made of green Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), and these are remade as single-use items. It was not recyclable because of the color.
To avoid discoloring the recycled food packaging needed to make new PET bottles, it is currently necessary to separate PET that is colored from PET that is clear.
