The new 13.2-ounce recyclable bottle that some customers will see on the shelves this week is made entirely of other plastics and is the latest move in Coca-Cola’s multi-year initiative to reduce its plastic waste. Coca-Cola also hopes that the size attracts younger drinkers under the age of 25 who are looking for sustainable packaging (and sometimes even avoid the company).
The new bottle will be available starting this month in some northeastern states, including New York and Connecticut, as well as in California and Florida, before launching nationwide this summer. Coca-Cola describes the size as an “easier to remove package” and will debut with the company’s most popular soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero Sugar, at a retail price of 1, $ 59.
“We listened to consumers and they told us they wanted something a little smaller and a little easier to consume,” Alpa Sutaria, Coca-Cola’s director general of sustainability, told CNN Business. “I took this opportunity to make a 100% recyclable plastic bottle.”
The 13.2-ounce size is slightly larger than its aluminum option and smaller than the typical 20-ounce glass. Unique sizes, such as the 7.5-ounce mini, were able to get strong sales.
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Meanwhile, the recycled plastic will also be presented in 20-ounce bottles of Cola and Diet Coke in New York, California and Texas this month, as well as for Dasani and Smartwater brands in certain locations in the coming months.
Sutaria said the development of the new packaging was a “love job and an excellent innovation” for Coca-Cola. Recycled plastic is cleaned, ground and turned into grain-like flakes before being turned into a new bottle.
She added that the launch states were chosen because customers in these areas “are more sensitive to the challenges we have in terms of sustainability issues”.
Coca-Cola is often criticized for contributing to the deterioration of plastic waste. Last year, the company was named polluter no. 1 in the world of plastic by the environmental company Break Free From Plastic. Its logos and markings were found on 13,834 pieces of plastic in 51 countries, often thrown in public spaces such as parks and beaches.
In 2018, Coca-Cola announced its “Waste-Free World” initiative, with the ultimate goal of collecting and recycling a bottle or box for everyone it sells by 2030. The new bottle, according to Sutaria, is a “big step in that direction.”
“We are committed to innovating and developing technology to minimize our impact,” she said, adding that the company “respects our commitment to real action.”
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Coca-Cola is not the only multinational conglomerate that aims to reduce its plastic pollution. Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, announced last year that it was spending $ 2 billion on similar initiatives. Pepsi recently launched a redesigned 2-liter bottle that uses 24% less material.
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