Coca-Cola achieves sustainability milestone with 100% recycled plastic bottles in Ireland

By transitioning to fully recyclable this will remove an additional 7,100 tonnes of plastic from circulation each year

Coca-Cola in partnership with its strategic bottling partner, Coca-Cola HBC announced that all plastic bottles across its soft drinks’ portfolio in Ireland and Northern Ireland are now made with 100% recycled plastic.

The new 100% recycled plastic bottles will be used across the full range of Coca-Cola products. 

This is a key sustainability milestone for Coca-Cola on the island of Ireland and will lead to the elimination of an additional 7,100 tonnes of virgin plastic from circulation annually.

An investment exceeding €20 million in recent years has enhanced sustainable packaging at the Coca-Cola HBC plant in Knockmore Hill, Lisburn. This supports key innovations, including a shift to 100% recycled plastic and the introduction of KeelClip packaging.

Coca-Cola invested in a new green ribbon design on packs, emphasising 100% recycled plastic and a clear recycling message. This aligns with preparations for the Deposit Return Scheme in 2024 in the Republic of Ireland and supports Coca-Cola’s global ‘World Without Waste’ initiative. Previous efforts include removing 442 tonnes of shrink plastic and collaboration with city councils for plastic and can collection campaigns. 

Agnese Filippi, country manager, Coca-Cola Ireland, said: “Today marks an important milestone on our sustainability journey here in Ireland and Northern Ireland realising our ambition of a World Without Waste. Reaching this point encourages us to continue to push further with our sustainability goals.”

Davide Franzetti, general manager, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland and Northern Ireland, said: “As the bottling partner for The Coca-Cola Company, we have accelerated the move to sustainable packaging ensuring that Ireland remains one step ahead of the global targets by incorporating more recycled material in our packaging.

“The shift to using 100% recycled plastic in our bottles will help eliminate 7,100 tonnes of virgin plastic from circulation annually, and in conjunction with the introduction a deposit return scheme (DRS) in Ireland early next year, will also support our move towards ensuring all of our bottles are used, recovered, recycled and reused, again and again. We are committed to driving forward our World Without Waste programme on the island of Ireland as we work with others to address waste and climate issues created by packaging.”