The new 13.2-ounce recyclable bottle that some customers will see on shelves this week is made entirely from other plastics, and it is the latest step in Coca-Cola’s multi-year initiative to reduce plastic waste. Coke also hopes the size will attract younger drinkers under 25 who are looking for sustainable packaging (and sometimes even shun the company).
The new bottle will be available this month in select Northeast states, including New York and Connecticut, as well as California and Florida, before launching nationwide this summer. Coke describes the size as a “more drinkable package,” and it will debut with the company’s most popular soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero Sugar, at a suggested retail price of $ 1.59.
“We’ve listened to consumers and they’ve told us they want something small and something easier to consume,” Alpa Sutaria, Coca-Cola’s CEO of sustainability, told CNN Business. “We took the opportunity to make a plastic bottle that is 100% recyclable.”
The 13.2-ounce size is slightly larger than the aluminum can option and smaller than the typical 20-ounce bottle. Unique sizes like the 7.5-ounce mini can have had strong sales.
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Meanwhile, the recycled plastic material will also be on display in 20-ounce bottles of Coke and Diet Coke in New York, California, and Texas this month, as well as for the company’s Dasani and Smartwater brands in select locations over the coming months.
Sutaria said developing the new packaging for Coca-Cola has been a “labor of love and great innovation”. The recycled plastic is cleaned, ground and turned into granular flakes before being transformed into a new bottle.
She added that launch states were chosen because customers in those areas are “more sensitive to the challenges we have around sustainability issues.”
Coca-Cola is often criticized for contributing to environmentally harmful plastic waste. Last year, the company was named the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter by environmental company Break Free From Plastic. The logos and branding were found on 13,834 pieces of plastic in 51 countries, often thrown away in public areas such as parks and beaches.
In 2018, Coke announced its “World Without Waste” initiative with the ultimate goal of collecting and recycling one bottle or can for every bottle sold by 2030. According to Sutaria, the new bottle is a “big step in that direction”.
“We are committed to innovating and developing technology to minimize our impact,” she said, adding that the company is “delivering on our commitment with real action.”
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Coca-Cola isn’t the only multinational conglomerate looking to reduce plastic pollution. Nestlé, the world’s largest food company, announced last year that it is spending $ 2 billion on similar initiatives. Pepsi recently rolled out a redesigned 2 liter bottle that uses 24% less material.
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