RECYCLE WEEK

SUSTAINABILITY: SOFT DRINKS PRODUCERS

SOFT DRINKS GIANTS EMBRACE RECYCLE WEEK

SOME OF THE UK’S BIGGEST SOFT DRINKS PRODUCERS HAVE CELEBRATED RECYCLE WEEK BYUNVEILING SOME NEWS AND INNOVATIONS GEARED TOWARDS A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

If you weren’t aware already, it’s ‘Recycle Week’, an annual festival organised by recycling campaign Recycle Now. Unsurprisingly, many of the UK’s biggest soft drinks brands have chosen this week to unveil their latest news and innovations to drive consumer and retailer interest in reducing our collective impact on the planet.

COCA-COLA EUROPEAN PARTNERS: SUSTAINABILITY MILESTONE REACHED

Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), in partnership with Coca-Cola Great Britain, announced earlier this week that all plastic bottles across all its core brands made in Great Britain are now made with 50% recycled plastic (rPET).

The move means Coca-Cola in Great Britain is now using over 21,000 tonnes of recycled plastic per year and rPET now accounts for 50% of all plastic used in bottles across the company’s core range made in Great Britain.

With this change Coca-Cola increases its rPET usage by a further 25% marking another major step on the journey towards the company’s ambition to help create more sustainable packaging options where all plastic used in bottles comes from recycled or renewable sources. All of Coca-Cola’s bottles have been 100% recyclable for many years.

To announce the step forward and the increase in recycled material, bottles will carry new labels notifying consumers of the change and encouraging them to recycle the bottle.

The move comes as part of Coke’s long-term investment in the UK’s circular economy, since helping to establish the UK’s biggest bottle-to-bottle plastic reprocessing facility in Lincolnshire in 2012 which reprocesses bottles collected from households across the UK.

Stephen Moorhouse, General Manager at Coca-Cola European Partners Great Britain, said: “One of the key challenges the industry currently faces is that there isn’t enough foodgrade recycled plastic locally available in the UK to switch to 100% rPET across our entire range. There needs to be more high-quality recycled plastic produced, so it’s vital to make sure we collect more bottles in an efficient way, and stop it ending up as waste.

“That’s why we support the introduction of a well-designed Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), consistent across Great Britain and coupled with investment in infrastructure. This will really encourage more people to recycle and will help more bottles to be collected in a clean, efficient way so that they can be remade into new bottles again.”

Helen Bird, Strategic Engagement Manager at WRAP, said: “It takes 75% less energy to make a plastic bottle from recycled plastic compared with using virgin material, and it’s always important to remember that using recycled content in the manufacture of new products and packaging is the whole point of recycling. Not only does it mean that less new plastic is being used, it also ensures that it is being kept in the packaging recycling system and out of the environment. We are seeing momentum building on the use of recycled content in plastic packaging and this announcement by Coca-Cola, one of our founding UK Plastics Pact members, is good news for the environment and good news for industry.”

SUNTORY BEVERAGE & FOOD GB&I: PAPER STRAW FIRST

Ribena has become the first major juice drinks brand in the UK to introduce a paper straw to its drinks cartons, with new packs now available in Tesco.

Ribena’s bendable paper straws will reduce the amount of plastic waste lost to landfill. Plastic straws are currently hard to recycle in the UK, largely due to their size.

The majority of Brits (93%) think it’s important that retailers set an example to others when it comes to recycling, with over half (53%) thinking retailers could do more to help consumers.

If people don’t push the straw back into the carton when finished, it can get lost in the recycling process, often falling through gaps on recycling centre sorting belts.

“Developing a bendable, durable paper straw hasn’t been easy, but recycling it should be,” says Jo Padwick, Business Transformation Manager at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I.

“We’ve conducted hours of consumer testing to make sure our new paper straws can puncture the carton, that they don’t become soggy, and that Ribena lovers enjoy the feel of sipping from them. Now that they’re on shelf in Tesco we can gather even more feedback before rolling the straws out more widely.”

BRITVIC: RETAILERS ‘SHOULD SET RECYCLING EXAMPLE’

Britvic released new research on Monday that it had commissioned to understand the recycling habits of the nation. The research reveals that most Brits (93%) think that it’s important that retailers set an example to others when it comes to recycling, with over half (53%) thinking retailers could do more to help consumers.

The research also revealed that over two thirds (68%) of consumers think that a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) would encourage more people to recycle drinks bottles and cans.

“At Britvic, we are committed supporters of a well-designed GB-wide DRS and it’s time for us, along with the industry, to take responsibility to create a world-class scheme to support the drive towards a healthier planet that we can leave to future generations,” says Sarah Webster, Director of Sustainable Business at Britvic. “Sustainability is no longer an option for businesses, it’s fundamental to future success.

“Recycling as much as we can is vital, and it’s important that we work with retailers to set the right example to help encourage good recycling habits. We are committed to effective recycling as part of our sustainability programme – that’s why we have chosen to be a donor for this year’s Recycle Week, as the theme, which is to thank the nation for continuing to recycle despite the current landscape and pandemic, resonates with our own values and wider aim of protecting the planet.”

100% of Britvic bottles and cans are recyclable. Britvic recently made a transformational £5m investment in UK sourced rPET to support its longterm plans, also committing to remove at least 500 tonnes of plastic weight by the end of this year.

You can find out more about Recycle Week, and how to recycle, at recyclenow.com.

THE RECYCLING HABITS OF THE NATION

Britvic’s recent study of recycling habits in the UK discovered a numberof interesting findings, including:

66% of Brits don’t know what happens to their recycling once it’s taken away

A third think their recycling probably ends up in landfill

A fifth (20%) throw roughly half of their rubbish in the normal bin which they think could probably be recycled

60% of Brits feel guilty if they put rubbish in the bin that could be recycled – 30% don’t feel guilty

85% would call themselves a frequent recycler

More than a fifth of Brits think they could be doing more when it comes to recycling, with 23% being guilty of throwing the odd plastic bottle in a standard bin and 13% not feeling educated enough on the process

The main reason for Brits not recycling efficiently as they could is alack of understanding of the recycling messages of products (25%)followed by it being inconvenient (10%) and taking too long (7%)

A third of Brits try to teach their children how to recycle to get them in the habit when while they’re still young.