Coca Cola on board to use recycled PET in packaging trial

Involving a number of the UK’s leading brands and retailers, it is the first time that recycled PET will be used in such a large number of high profile, high volume product lines.

” We believe that by using recycled PET in packaging, recovery rates will increase from below 10% as they currently stand to greater than 50%“
– Robert Pascoe, Managing Director of recycling organisation Closed Loop London.

Marks & Spencer and Boots are among the other big name companies involved in the far-reaching programme of work.

London Remade , in partnership with Closed Loop London, will be leading the Marks & Spencer and Boots projects, offering technical and recycling expertise to the retailers.

Robert Pascoe, Managing Director of Closed Loop London, explained: “The trials will address consumer and industry perceptions, technical performance and cost implications alongside the actual application of recycled PET in packaging.

“We believe that by using recycled PET in packaging and creating a strong local demand, recovery rates will increase from below 10% as they currently stand to greater than 50% as is achieved in many other countries. The funding provided by WRAP will enable this co-ordinated trial to take place with key industry players on a larger scale than would otherwise have been possible. ”

Closed loop

Currently, PET is used for a significant proportion of plastic bottles and increasingly in other types of packaging.

In 2003, about 250,000 tonnes of PET was used in the UK, of which 15,000 tonnes of PET bottles (500 million) were recycled across Britain. Very little of this went back into UK packaging production, however, and the project aims to help close the loop by encouraging steady market demand for the material.

According to WRAP over 2,000 tonnes of recycled PET is expected to be used in the initial trials and each partner is planning to continue using the material after the trials have ended, provided the results are positive. The final conclusions will be publicly disseminated and the successful outcomes will be used to promote the wider adoption of recycled PET in retail packaging.

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd will trial the use of recycled PET in a range of bottles for both carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks. The recycled material will be thoroughly tested for both performance and consumer appeal over a six month period, during which the products will be on sale nationally.
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