Using recycled materials

• Our glass bottles contain an average of 37% recycled glass
• Our aluminium cans contain around 50% recycled aluminium

As well as reducing the amount of raw materials we use, this also saves considerable energy. Using recycled aluminium, for example, saves up to 95% of the energy required to manufacture aluminium from its raw form.

We use large amounts of PET plastic. Essentially, plastic doesn't decompose when it's left in landfill sites, so our goal is to use as much recycled PET in our plastic bottles as possible. By the end of 2010 we averaged 14% of recycled PET (rPET) in our bottles.  We aim to raise this recycled content to 25% across Europe by the end of 2012 - and we're on track to achieve that.

PlantBottle™ packaging innovation

In 2009 The Coca-Cola Company introduced an alternative to fossil-fuel based PET, known as PlantBottle™ plastic. This is a fully-recyclable PET  bottle made from a blend of petroleum-based materials and up to 30% plant-based materials, derived from a by-product of sugarcane production. PlantBottle™ plastic is chemically identical to traditional PET but includes a component from a sustainable source.  It also has a lower carbon footprint than traditional PET, around 20% less than a regular PET bottle.  In 2011 we will be launching PlantBottle™ packaging in Great Britain and bottles in our PlantBottle™ range will contain 25% rPET and up to 22.5% plant- based materials.

Sustainable Secondary Packaging

We're aiming to use cardboard from certified sustainable sources in our secondary packaging and in 2011 will convert Capri-Sun boxes and corrugated trays to Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cardboard.

Recycled PET

In order to use recycled PET (rPET) in our plastic bottles on a major scale, we need a ready local supply that is good quality - "food-grade" - and has limited contamination.

In 2011, Coca-Cola Enterprises announced a joint venture with ECO Plastics to develop the largest PET plastic recycling facility in Western Europe.

Currently, only 35,000 tonnes, or one-third, of all PET sent for recycling is reprocessed in Great Britain.  The rest is exported. The new facility will more than double reprocessing of PET plastic bottles in this country to 75,000 tonnes.

This marks a step change in the plastic reprocessing industry and shows Coca-Cola Enterprises' commitment to creating a low carbon, bottle-to-bottle recycling system in Great Britain. It will also supply enough high quality, food grade recycled PET to achieve our goal of including 25% recycled content in all our plastic bottles by 2012. 

The carbon benefit of using recycled PET (rPET) is clear. The rPET produced at the new facility will emit 68% fewer CO2 emissions than virgin PET, saving around 33,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking 15,175 cars off the road.

We recognise that Coca-Cola has a responsibility in this area and we are committed to supporting this maturing industry. Our goal is to ensure that a "closed-loop" system exists in GB, so that a PET bottle recycled by a consumer has a second life as the next Coca-Cola rPET bottle.

The sustainable production of rPET depends on consumers recycling their bottles, so the continued growth and public interest in recycling is very encouraging.