Coca-Cola Philippines has expanded its range of bottles made from 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET), excluding caps and labels. The rPET packaging is now available for Coca-Cola Original in 190 ml and 390 ml and Wilkins Pure in 500 ml, in addition to Sprite 500 ml, which was introduced in 2019.
The launch comes after Coca-Cola and Indorama Ventures’ bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in the Philippines started operations last October. The facility has a processing capacity of 30,000 MT/year of plastic or almost 2 billion plastic bottles, with an output of 16,000 MT/year of rPET resin.
The company also launched a new consumer engagement initiative to inform and engage consumers about the actions they can take to recycle their empty plastic bottles, called ‘May Ikabobote Pa’ (bottles can have many lives). Initiatives include a call to action ‘Recycle me again’ on the labels of the new rPET Coca-Cola and Wilkins Pure bottles, accompanied by a QR code for more information about the company’s recycling programme, as well as partnerships with 7-Eleven shops and Shell stations for increasing collection.
“In line with our commitment to helping build a circular economy in the country, we are working to offer innovative packaging design, expand collection and recycling programs, and forge strategic alliances with stakeholders - including government agencies, industry partners and local organisations,” said Coca-Cola Philippines president Tony del Rosario.
As the world’s top plastic polluter, Coca-Cola has recently been increasing efforts to close the loop on some of its products and ramping up the use of recycled content. Coca-Cola Philippines has established over 2,800 recycling drop-off points across country to encourage consumers to return their empty bottles.
This August, Coca-Cola India launched the country’s first 100% rPET bottle. Coca-Cola introduced its first 100% recycled PET bottle to the U.S. market in 2021.