COCA-COLA CELEBRATES INCREASED PET RECYCLING RATES

Staff writer
Jul 11, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Aug 2, 2022

National Environment Month (June) encourages everyone to restore global ecosystems, and Coca-Cola continues to recognise its important role in investing in the South African recycling sector. Through its commitment to achieving a world without waste, Coca-Cola aims to recycle a bottle or can for each one it sells, by 2030. The company is also working on designing packaging that is 100% recyclable and ensuring that all its bottles contain 50% recycled material by 2030. The company’s global goal is to be net-zero carbon by 2050.

Through its partnership with PET Recycling Company (PETCO) in South Africa, Coca-Cola is indirectly helping to collect and divert packaging waste from landfills by supporting the recycling sector while creating economic opportunities. PETCO’S 2021 Annual Report shows that its funded collection volume increased by 14%. In addition, the availability of food grade recycled plastics increased by 17% through PETCO support.

The company strives to make beverage packaging part of the circular economy. Packaging materials have value which needs to be captured in the design process and prevented from becoming waste at the end of its life.

Earlier this year, the Coca-Cola Africa Operating Unit and its bottling partners launched JAMII, the Africa-focused sustainability platform that will house existing and new sustainability initiatives.

In June, bottling partner Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages undertook a clean-up at Sunset Beach in Milnerton, Cape Town. This supported the Plastic Free Mzanzi 2022 campaign, bringing together various partners to drive a campaign of caring for the environment.

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, Coca-Cola’s other bottling partner, has also made sustainability integral to its business strategy. In 2020, it launched its Coke Ville project, an off-grid, solar powered groundwater harvesting and treatment programme targeting indigent communities that are facing water insecurity challenges. To date, more than 15 000 households across Limpopo, Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KZN have benefitted from 150 million litres of water.