Coca-Cola launches 500ml bottles made from 100% recycled plastic in Hong Kong as it cuts environmental footprint

‘We are taking a significant step to reducing our environmental footprint, and creating a more sustainable future for all,’ says company executive at launch event
The famous fizzy drinks maker aims to collect and recycle every bottle and every can that it produces by 2030

Business of climate change

Martin Choi

Published: 6:00pm, 8 Apr 2024

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The Coca-Cola Company has announced the launch of 500ml bottles made completely out of recycled plastic for its namesake fizzy drink in Hong Kong as part of a push to reduce its environmental footprint.

The global beverage giant said on Monday afternoon that all 500ml bottles for Coca-Cola Original, Coca-Cola No Sugar and Coca-Cola Plus in Hong Kong have shifted to 100 per cent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) in their production, the first such use of the material in China.

This will help the drinks maker achieve its goal of collecting and recycling every bottle and every can that it produces by 2030, according to Tim Warwick, vice-president of operations for Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and Mongolia at the Coca-Cola Company. The fizzy drinks giant also aims to make all of its packages 100 per cent recyclable by 2025.

It has already made the move to recycled plastic 500ml bottles in countries including Canada, the Philippines and Myanmar.

“By using 100 per cent rPET bottles, we are taking a significant step to reducing our environmental footprint, and creating a more sustainable future for all,” said Warwick at a launch event for the recycled bottles on Monday.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the world’s most recycled plastic with rates of 31 per cent in the United States and 52 per cent in Europe, according to industry associations representing North American and European producers of PET.

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“In Hong Kong, we have to dispose about 2,300 tonnes of plastic waste every day into our landfills, accounting for about 21 per cent of our total municipal solid waste,” said Samuel Chui, the government’s director of environmental protection, at the launch event.

“Out of this plastic waste, around 4 per cent – that is more than a hundred tonnes per day – are plastic beverage bottles, of which over 90 per cent are made of PET. Indeed, the PET plastic bottles have a very high recycling value and can be turned into useful resources.

“This new and environmentally friendly packaging will not only contribute to the development of a local circular economy of plastics, but also [act as] an encouraging benchmark for the trade.”

The government aims to enact legislation later this year introducing so-called producer responsibility schemes for various goods, including plastic drink containers, from 2025. It aims to have manufacturers, distributors and consumers share the costs of collection, processing, recycling and disposal.

In collaboration with the Drink Without Waste initiative, Coca-Cola and its bottling partner Swire Coca-Cola is investing HK$3 million (US$380,000) this year to support a new neighbourhood collection scheme by mobilising participating housing estates, their cleaners and resident households to build a recycling mechanism.

Drink Without Waste is a voluntary scheme bringing together drink manufacturers and environmental groups to raise the recycling rate of single-use bottles and containers in the city.

Environmental authorities will introduce a throwaway plastic ban on April 22, which will cover styrofoam products and utensils such as cutlery and straws offered by takeaway outlets. Dine-in customers will also no longer be able to use single-use plastic cups or boxes under the policy.