Coca-Cola to Recycle or Reuse All Its U.S. Plastic Bottles

ATLANTA, Georgia, September 6, 2007 (ENS) - The world's largest beverage company, Coca-Cola, is planning to invest more than $60 million to build the world's largest plastic-bottle-to-bottle recycling plant and support recycling in the United States, the company said Wednesday.

These investments are part of the company's goal to recycle or reuse 100 percent of the company's polyethylene terephthalate, PET, plastic bottles in the United States.

"We have set an ambitious goal to recycle or reuse all the plastic bottles we use in the U.S. market," said Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America. "Our investments in recycling infrastructure, coupled with our work on sustainable package design, will help us reach this target."

The Coca-Cola Company and United Resource Recovery Corporation will build the recycling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The plant will produce approximately 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET plastic for reuse each year, the equivalent of producing nearly two billion 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottles.

"The long-term sustainability of our business depends on our ability to ensure the sustainability of our packaging," said Douglas. "This new recycling facility represents a significant milestone as we work to advance recycling in the U.S. and ensure a strong end-market for our PET packaging."

The new Spartanburg plant will open in 2008 and will be fully operational in 2009. It is part of a continuing effort by Coca-Cola to support recycling in key markets. Coca-Cola also has invested in recycling facilities in Switzerland, Mexico, Austria and the Philippines.

Recycling plastic for reuse yields financial benefits, requires less energy than producing bottles with virgin materials, and reduces waste and greenhouse gases.

Over the next 10 years, the Spartanburg recycling plant is expected to eliminate the production of one million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions – the equivalent of removing 21,500 cars from the road.

"Coca-Cola has staked a clear leadership position in its approach to sustainable packaging," said Kate Krebs, executive director of the National Recycling Coalition. "The new Spartanburg plant represents an end-to-end recycling model that is world class and that I hope other industries will follow."

Coca-Cola has been focused on PET recycling and reuse since introducing the first beverage bottle made with recycled material in 1991. Now the company uses recycled content in more than 17 countries, including the United States.

The company is also beinning to recover and recycle Coca-Cola packaging materials including PET, aluminum, cardboard and plastic film and plans to develop centralized recycling centers throughout the United States.

The company will be expanding its partnership in RecycleBank, which now operates in southern New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania and will be launching service in upstate New York, Vermont and Massachusetts in the fall of 2007.

RecycleBank plans to be in 100,000 homes by the end of 2007. The additional investment finalized by Coca-Cola Wednesday will support a national rollout of the RecycleBank program by 2009.

RecycleBank was launched in 2003 by entrepreneurs Patrick FitzGerald and Ron Gonen. The Philadelphia-based company rewards households for the weight of materials they recycle. Households can earn up to $400 RecycleBank Dollars per year that can be used at more than 100 participating local and national businesses.

Since it started, RecycleBank has taken recycling rates in Philadelphia from 15 percent to more than 50 percent, and household participation from 30 percent to 90 percent.

"RecycleBank makes recycling easier and more convenient for consumers," said Scott Vitters, director of sustainable packaging with Coca-Cola. "While consumers reap the rewards of recycling through RecycleBank incentives, businesses also benefit through the increased collection of valuable, reusable materials like PET."

Coca-Cola also has introduced a line of merchandise made out of recycled PET bottles. The products feature slogans such as "I'm wearing post-consumer waste," and "My white t-shirt is green."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.