CCEP marks National Recycling Week with a series of developments in its sustainable operations
CCEP will end the use of plastic shrink-wrap across all multipacks of cans sold in Great Britain, resulting in 4,000 tonnes of plastic removed from circulation across Western Europe.
Coca-Cola European Partners marks National Recycling Week with a series of announcements that include news the company will end the use of plastic shrink-wrap across all multipacks of cans sold in Great Britain and replace it with cardboard. The move will see more than 30 million packs sold to consumers each year no longer being wrapped in plastic, resulting in 4,000 tonnes of plastic removed from circulation across Western Europe.
The shrink-wrap will be replaced with 100% recyclable, sustainably sourced cardboard, with either an FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certification. This change will be made over the next 18 months to 4,6, and 8 packs of cans including Coca-Cola (original taste and zero sugar), Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper and Lilt.
This year has also seen CCEP move forward with the ‘Clear is the new Green’ campaign, part of an ongoing effort to remove virgin plastic from circulation, with a goal of doubling the amount of recycled PET used in all its plastic bottles, across 20 brands.
Working with trusted partners continues to be part of how CCEP realise their This is Forward strategy, striving to operate in the most sustainable way. As such the company is delighted to be working with the National Union of Students (NUS) on the Recycle League, a pilot competition aiming to encourage recycling and avoid waste in university campuses’ across the UK. The initiative will include students from 11 universities including; Bath Spa, Birmingham City, Nottingham Trent and Cardiff Universities. Students from these universities will be encouraged to rally together and report on the amount of campus recycling and waste in the hope of winning the top prize of £15,000.
This week also marks eight years since all of CCEP’s production sites across GB became waste to landfill free – with some of the business’ largest sites celebrating up to 10 years – and coincides with a year since WRAP and IGD’s Food Waste Reduction Roadmap was proposed. As a supporter of the roadmap, CCEP understand the importance of having frameworks such as these to steer the conversation around recycling.
Nick Brown, Head of Sustainability, Coca-Cola European Partners GB, said: “These announcements underline the continued efforts that we are taking as a company in realizing the goals set out in our This is Forward strategy. In particular the move from shrink to board is an important milestone for CCEP and one which will have a positive impact on how we operate in a sustainable way. As a company we believe National Recycling Week is a key calendar moment which raises awareness of the latest issues and developments in this area.”
