Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC), a bottling partner of the Coca-Cola company, announced it has started producing recycled PET packaging at its facility in Romania. It is the first time a beverage producer manufactures rPET for its own packaging within the Eastern European country.
The company has installed a PET flake decontamination unit in its factory in Ploiesti, north of Bucharest. The factory is the second largest within the Coca-Cola HBC Group, whilst the new decontamination facility is the third in operation across Coca-Cola HBC’s 29 markets. The €11 million investment included €3.5 million in state aid from the Romanian government.
This year, Coca-Cola HBC Romania started offering 100% rPET packaging for its entire portfolio of soft drinks, including Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, Cappy, Cappy Pulpy, Fuzetea, and Dorna. The new in-house rPET production facility will provide a steady supply of high-quality rPET resin for the bottle portfolio.
“We are working to produce and deliver our drinks in more sustainable ways and in packaging that has a life beyond its initial use – and Romania is a great example of how we can work collaboratively with our stakeholders and the wider industry to create a circular economy for packaging,” said Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC Romania.
In 2022, 22% of the PET plastic used across Coca-Cola HBC’s EU and Swiss markets was from recycled material. With the investment in Romania, and transitions to recycled bottle portfolios Coca-Cola HBC markets of Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland and Northern Ireland, the company is on track to deliver almost 50% rPET use in EU and Swiss markets by the end of 2023. This is a welcome development as the Coca-Cola Company remains the number one plastic polluter in the world.
The company is also supporting the introduction Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) in many of its markets - schemes that typically achieve a 90% collection rate for bottles and cans. There are currently five DRS active across Coca-Cola HBC markets, with six more coming on stream by the end of 2025. Romania’s scheme is set to be introduced this December.