Written on Wednesday April 17th, 2019

All packages 600ml and under, including Coca-Cola, Sprite and Fanta, will be made entirely from recycled plastic, reducing the amount of new plastic resin the company uses by an estimated 16,000 tonnes a year from 2020.

It is the latest step Coca-Cola Amatil and Coca-Cola Australia have taken to reduce the company’s packaging footprint, with the phase-out of single-use plastic straws under way and most Mount Franklin products already in 100 per cent recycled plastic.

The company’s beverages managing director, Peter West, said the commitment meant an early arrival at the 70 per cent recycled plastic packaging goal, as outlined under the federal government’s 2025 national packaging target. Other signatories to the agreement include Aldi, Australia Post, Coles, Lion, Metcash, Visy and Woolworths.

“What we’re getting from out customers and consumers is about the need to step up and show some leadership on this issue,” Mr West said.

The 750ml Pump brand water bottle will also be made from recycled plastic, with tests under way for a solution to Coca-Cola’s larger branded bottles. Mr West said Australians’ opinion on plastic waste had evolved rapidly and the region was seen as a proving ground for the parent company’s recycling initiatives.

“There has already been a big difference from the time of the (supermarket) plastic bag ban last year,” Mr West said.

“You went shopping in June and you were shocked that you had to bring your own bag and now it’s just routine.

“People have an expectation that companies will address single-se plastic”.

Data disclosed by Coca-Cola to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment shows it was the survey’s biggest producer of plastic packaging waste in 2017, using three million tonnes worldwide.

That is almost double the next on the list, Nestle.

A report released this month from brokerage firm Credit Suisse, looking at environmental, social and governance investment strategy, warned that production of plastics would have significant implications for the environment.

Modelling by Credit Suisse projects 34,000 million tonnes of plastic will have been produced by the end of 2050.

This means “there will be more plastics in the ocean than fish in weight”, Credit Suisse lead strategy analyst Phineas Glover says in the report.

Published by AAP