Coke Canada commits to 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles by 2024

The Coca-Cola Company declares that all its 500 ml sparkling beverage bottles in Canada will be made with 100 per cent recycled plastic (excluding caps and labels) by early 2024.

“With this transition, no virgin PET plastic will be used for our sparkling 500 ml bottles under normal circumstances going forward in Canada,” said Kurt Ritter, vice-president and general manager, sustainability, Coca-Cola North America. “We hope that transitioning our 500 ml sparkling portfolio to 100 per cent recycled plastic will increase the amount of high-quality, food-grade, recycled plastic available in Canada and, ultimately, enable us to offer more of our brands in this sustainable format.”

The shift supports the Coca-Cola Company’s World Without Waste goals to use at least 50 per cent recycled content in its packaging by 2030, and to reduce the use of virgin plastic.

Bottles made with 100 per cent recycled plastic create and sustain a circular economy for plastic packaging. Once the material (PET) is recycled, it is cleaned, sorted and ground into small flakes that become raw material for more new bottles.

“We’re proud to partner with The Coca-Cola Company on our transition to 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles across Canada,” said Todd Parsons, CEO of Coca-Cola Canada Bottling. “We’re on a journey to be the leading beverage partner in Canada, and one of the ways we’re doing that is by earning our social license to operate by driving a circular economy for our packaging. Every one of these 100 per cent recycled plastic bottles represents meaningful progress on that journey.”

The new recycled plastic bottles will be produced locally at the Brampton, Ont., Calgary, Alba., Lachine, Que., and Richmond, B.C., manufacturing facilities, by Coke Canada Bottling.