PET liner recycling scheme is a ‘smart’ solution for Coca Cola European Partners

A PET-liner recycling scheme is helping Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) reduce waste, costs, and the carbon footprint of producing its ‘Smartwater’ brand of bottled water in the UK.

The scheme is a collaboration between labeling and packaging materials provider, Avery Dennison and Dumfries-based recycler, PET UK, which was first launched in 2014.

Under the recycling scheme, PET UK shreds and extrudes the waste PET liner (used to carry the self-adhesive labels before dispensing) and then produces a material suitable for making new items such as PET staple fibre, strapping or thermoformable sheets.

Coca-Cola European Partners produced more than 50 million bottles of Smartwater in 2015, generating more than 40 tonnes of PET liner waste costing around £8,500 in disposal/handling costs.

By signing up to the liner recycling scheme it will not only make savings cost savings relating to disposal costs, but is also expected to save around 180-200 tonnes in CO2 emissions in 2016.

“This example shows how we can turn the crisis of resources into a business opportunity through close collaboration across the value chain,” explained Joe Franses, Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability at Coca-Cola European Partners.

“Businesses which can be truly innovative with the products and services they provide, optimising the resources they use and encouraging consumers to do the same, have the potential to transform our economy.”

Xander van der Vlies, Sustainability Director for Avery Dennison Materials Group Europe, said that CCEP wanted to further improve Smartwater production in line with its focus on recycling, sustainability and creating a circular economy.

“Avery Dennison was a natural choice of partner for this project, given our ambitious year-on-year sustainability goals, and the various initiatives we promote around the reduction of waste created in the self-adhesive label value chain,” van der Vlies explained.

“We have close relationships both with PET UK and with CCEP’s waste management company Viridor, and together we have been able to establish a strategy that saves on waste and emissions while at the same time giving CCEP concrete business benefits and cost reductions.”

Avery Dennison has set a sustainability goal for 2025 of eliminating 70 percent of liner waste from the industry value chain.