MAKING BOTTLES EASIER TO RECYCLE IN LOCAL RECYCLING PLANTS
After nearly 60 years in Australia, Sprite’s iconic green plastic bottles switched to clear plastic, making them easier to recycle into new bottles locally.
The switch from green to clear Sprite bottles will increase the likelihood of these bottles being remade into new bottles, meaning that they can have more than one life.
All Sprite bottles under 1 litre are already made from 100 per cent recycled PET plastic (excluding caps and labels). This initiative helps to support recycling systems and gives bottles the best chance of being recycled and processed into new bottles locally.
Planet Ark Environmental Foundation, Australia's leading environmental behaviour change organisation, welcomed the potential impact on plastics recycling in Australia.
Planet Ark CEO, Rebecca Gilling said: "We all have a role to play in driving our transition to a circular economy in Australia and this is a significant move by Coca‑Cola Australia. It’s critical that companies like Coca‑Cola continue to invest in making sure their products have the best chance of being recycled. If bottles are collected and recycled and then turned into new bottles locally – this ultimately means less demand for new plastic, as well as reduced carbon emissions.”
Gilling added that Container Deposit Schemes, which are now available or planned to launch in every Australian state and territory, provide an excellent means of ensuring clean recycling streams.”
“Choosing to recycle plastic bottles via Container Deposit Schemes helps to keep them out of landfill and gives them the best chance of becoming another bottle. Keeping the collected material in Australia is essential to driving circular outcomes.
Coca‑Cola EuroPacific Partners is part of the Circular Plastics Australia (PET) joint venture, in collaboration with PACT Group, Cleanaway Waste Management and Asahi Beverages, which has invested in two state-of-the-art PET recycling facilities that turn empty PET bottles into recycled content for new packages.
The first site became operational in Albury, NSW in 2022, and a second facility will open in Altona, Victoria in late 2023. Combined, the sites will have the capacity to recycle the equivalent of 2 billion 600ml PET plastic bottles each year, right here on Australian shores.