In the EU, claims such as “I am a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic” will be replaced to clarify that this does not extend to the cap and label.
The complaint was made by European consumer protection organisation Bureau Européen des Unions de Consommateurs (BEUC) and its members.
Agustín Reyna, director general of BEUC, said: “It is good news that Coca-Cola has heeded consumers’ call and commits to clarify that its ‘100%’ recycling claims only apply to parts of the bottle.
“However, if it’s written in small print, the ‘100%’ figure will undoubtedly stick on consumers’ minds and keep giving the impression that it’s harmless to keep buying plastic bottles. The truth is that barely more than half of plastic bottles are recycled.
“It is crystal clear that a 100% recycling rate will never be reached. Affirming that a bottle is 100% recycled or recyclable is outright misleading and should stop, just as green imagery giving the wrong impression that plastic drink bottles have zero impact on the environment.
“We expect authorities to monitor if Coca-Cola turns their words into deeds and to take strong measures if this is not the case.”
Claims such as “100% recycled” and “100% recyclable” will also be removed as additives such as adhesives, inks, and colorants reduce the actual recycled content.
The complaint was made in November 2023 and was supported by non-profit legal firm ClientEarth and the Environmental Coalition on Standards (ECOS).
After the complaint was made, Coca-Cola voluntarily entered into a dialogue with the European Commission’s Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) network.
A spokesperson for Coca-Cola Great Britain, told letrecycle.com: “The commitments we’ve voluntarily aligned with the CPC Network underline our shared ambition of providing clear and factual information about our products to consumers.
“We will be implementing these changes in the coming months and will continue to develop our approach as the needs of our consumers evolve.”
The CPC is a large group of EU Member State consumer protection authorities and is led by the Swedish Consumer Agency and the Hungarian Competition Authority.
Kamila Drzewicka, senior lawyer at ClientEarth, said: “This news sends a clear signal to the entire industry confirming that misleading claims about recycling can pose a legal risk.
“In our view, this outcome should be seen as the floor, not the ceiling – regulators and courts across the EU now have a clear mandate to take action against such practices, which mislead consumers and breach legal standards.
“Recycling cannot catch up with the massive volume of plastic produced. Companies are in a unique position to change how we consume, but these misleading claims are making it hard for consumers to make good environmental choices.”
The implementation of the changes will be monitored by national consumer protection authorities.
In addition, authorities will also assess the practices of other major bottling companies operating in the EU Single Market, and where necessary, will require them to abide by similar commitments.
letsrecycle.com reached out to Coca-Cola for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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