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Speaking at the launch of Coca Cola Enterprises’ (CCE) Corporate Sustainability Report opposite the Olympic Park at Formans Fish Island (22 July), CCE recycling director Patrick McGuirk told PN: “When you come to the Olympics you will hold that bottle (PlantBottle) in your hands.”
Coca Cola is one of the main global sponsors of London 2012.
The 100% recyclable PlantBottle contains both recycled plastic and plastic partially derived from plant matter. The PlantBottle packaging is currently made by converting sugar cane into monoethylene glycol (MEG), which represents 30% of the total composition of the PET plastic by weight.
Reduces carbon emissions
According to Coca Cola, the PlantBottle is environmentally efficient. It said that the PlantBottle with 30% plant-based material reduces carbon emissions by up to 25%, compared with petroleum-based PET.
With just one year and three days to go until the opening ceremony, McGuirk also told PN that when spectators walk into the Olympic park in 12 months time they will have a “total recycling experience”.
McGuirk said that the PlantBottle packs will begin to appear on the market “around September time”.
The company is in talks with LOCOG, the Games’ organising committee, to plan what the recycling bins will look like.
McGuirk also said that the bottles will be sent to its facilities for recycling. Coca Cola has recently announced a joint venture with, plastic recycling firm, Eco Plastics to develop one of the largest plastic recycling facilities in Western Europe.
Currently, 35,000 tonnes of PET is sent for recycling in the UK. The new facility in Lincolnshire plans to double reprocessing of PET bottles in the UK to 75,000 tonnes.
Bold goal
McGuirk also said that Coca Cola has a goal to transform recycling in the UK.
He explained: “We believe that the power of our brand aligned with our knowledge and expertise with our supply chain can deliver against that.
“But the complexity of the waste and recycling value chain means that you actually have to intervene and link together all the different parts if we are to actually meet that goal to transform recycling in this country.
“I often say, when I meet my colleagues in France, that GB is the poor man of recycling in Europe. We believe we have the opportunity to fix some of those challenges.”
He also said that if there are parts of the recycling and waste chain that are not working today and are related to Coca Cola, then the company will come forward and bring their expertise “and where it makes sense we will also invest against that”.
Recycling initiative with Asda
Elsewhere, the firm said that in early 2011 it partnered with Asda to run a recycling promotion in-store. The initiative encouraged consumers to commit to recycling. Coca Cola managing director Simon Baldry said it had proved successful and the company was going to continue with the initiative and roll it out.
Source: www.packagingnews.co.uk |
