Coca Cola
The Coca‑Cola system in Great Britain has revealed it has recycled 10.5 million bottles collected from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, returning them to GB shelves as part of new bottles.
According to Coca-Cola, the recycled bottles are being used for the production of 42 million new bottles, each containing 25 percent rPET.
The opening of Continuum Recycling, Coca‑Cola Enterprises’ new £15 million joint venture recycling facility with ECO Plastics, allowed over 10.5 million clear plastic bottles from London 2012 venues to be recycled within just six weeks of disposal, saving an estimated 310 tonnes of carbon.
During the Games, Coca‑Cola sought to educate people about the speed with which a plastic bottle could be turned into a brand new bottle in the UK. Nielsen research, commissioned by Coca‑Cola, shows that 70 percent of visitors surveyed at London 2012 said, on learning this, they would now be more likely to recycle at home.
Simon Baldry, Managing Director of Coca‑Cola Enterprises in GB, said: “I’m delighted that through Continuum Recycling we have been able to recycle enough material from Olympic venues to use in 42 million new PET bottles within just six weeks of people throwing them away. This is an important milestone and shows we are serious about setting the industry standard for sustainable packaging in this country.”