Coca-Cola has introduced a sample bottle manufactured using recovered and recycled plastic from the sea as part of its efforts to reduce pollution.
The company worked closely with Ioniqa Technologies, Indorama Ventures and Mares Circulares (Circular Seas) to produce the new marine plastic bottle.
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Mares Circulares collected and recovered marine litter from 84 beach cleanups in Spain and Portugal and in 12 ports across the Mediterranean Sea.
Using enhanced recycling processes, Ioniqa Technologies recycled the collected marine plastic waste to create food-grade polyethene terephthalate (PET).
Indorama Ventures converted the material into PET plastic to produce the first sample Coca-Cola bottle.
According to the company, the new product is the first-ever plastic bottle manufactured from marine litter. Coca-Cola noted that ocean debris would also be recycled and reused in food and drink packaging in future.
The partnership has produced around 300 sample bottles using 25% recycled marine plastic.
Coca-Cola Western Europe technical and supply chain director Bruno van Gompel said: “Enhanced recycling technologies are enormously exciting not just for us but for industry and society at large.
“They accelerate the prospect of a closed-loop economy for plastic, which is why we are investing behind them.
“As these begin to scale, we will see all kinds of used plastics returned as good as new not just once but again and again, diverting waste streams from incineration and landfill.”
Coca-Cola is planning to introduce enhanced recycling at commercial scale using waste streams from existing recyclers. The company plans to include this enhanced recycled content in some of its bottles from 2020.
