Sustainable step: 100% Recycled PET Bottles launched in the carbonated beverage category

New Delhi, India: After being the first company in India to launch a one-litre bottle made from 100% recycled PET (rPET) for its packaged drinking water brand Kinley, Coca-Cola India is taking another meaningful step towards creating a circular economy and has announced the launch of Coca-Cola® in rPET in pack sizes of 250 ml and 750 ml. These rPET bottles are being manufactured by Coca-Cola bottling partners – Moon Beverages Ltd., and SLMG Beverages Ltd..

The rPET bottles expansion showcases Coca-Cola India’s transformative journey towards building a sustainable and greener future for all. The bottles made from 100% food-grade rPET (excluding caps and labels) have an on-pack call to action “Recycle Me Again” message and will also drive consumer awareness with “100% recycled PET bottle” displayed on the pack.

Sanjeev Agarwal, Chairman, Moon Beverages Limited (part of MMG Group), commended the rPET launch stating, “PET plastic bottles have value beyond their first life. Our new bottles made with food-grade rPET are recyclable and can become another bottle giving it another life. Recycled PET is a big move in the right direction to embrace plastic circularity in India.”

These rPET bottles are crafted from food-grade recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET). The plastic is recycled as per the technologies approved by the US FDA and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for food-grade recycled material and repurposed into new PET bottles, reducing the need for virgin plastic for producing PET Bottles.

On the launch of Coca-Cola® in rPET, Paritosh Ladhani, Managing Director, SLMG Beverages Limited stated, “We produced the first bottle of Coca-Cola in India and are proud to be amongst the first bottlers to produce the rPET variant. We are committed to sustainability and SLMG is enthused to drive meaningful change and build a sustainable future.”

The Coca‑Cola Company now offers 100% rPET bottles in over 40 markets, bringing it closer to its World Without Waste goal of making bottles with 50% recycled content by 2030. Announced in 2018, the sustainable packaging platform also includes a goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one the company sells globally by 2030, and to make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025.

Enrique Ackermann, Vice President, Technical and Innovation, Coca-Cola India, and Southwest Asia, said, ” We seek to drive a circular economy for our packaging in order to reduce waste and carbon emissions. We’re working to increase recycled content in our packaging, expand our use of refillable bottles, and to collect packaging for recycling through our World Without Waste initiative. We also do research for new solutions for packaging. This expansion by Moon Beverages and SLMG Beverages underscores Coca-Cola India’s steadfast commitment to sustainability and its dedication to forging a more sustainable future.”

The Food Safety Authority of India (FSSAI) has approved the use of recycled PET in food packaging. Similarly, the Government of India’s, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Bureau of Indian Standards has enabled befitting regulations and standards to facilitate the use of recycled plastics in food and beverage packaging.

Coca-Cola is making it convenient for consumers to return their empty PET bottles by recycling them at conveniently placed drop-off points or Reverse Vending Machines (RVM’s). Earlier this year, Coca-Cola India launched a ‘Return and Recycle’ initiative with Zepto that focuses on gathering PET bottles directly from consumers. This also helps in establishing an organized process of collecting PET bottles with 100% traceability. Specifically for India, Coca-Cola introduced ASSP (Affordable Small Sparkling Pack) for the 250 ml PET bottle. ASSP, a proprietary Coca-Cola innovative technology is used to reduce plastic usage in the production of PET bottles for sparkling products by up to 40 percent.

In December 2022, Coca-Cola Bangladesh launched 100% rPET bottles, making it the first market in Southwest Asia (SWA) to introduce Kinley water bottles in one-liter packages.