Coca-Cola India has taken another step towards plastic circularity by introducing 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) bottles in an Affordable Small Sparkling Package (ASSP) format. 

The company is offering 250ml ASSP bottles in the Indian state of Odisha.

The initiative, led by Coca-Cola's bottling partner Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, is part of the company's broader commitment to environmental responsibility and reducing its carbon footprint.  

The new ASSP bottles are designed to be light, which contributes to a 36% reduction in emissions compared to traditional virgin PET packaging.  

Furthermore, the switch to rPET for the ASSP solution is said to result in an overall 66% decrease in carbon footprint when compared to the standard non-ASSP packaging made from virgin PET. 

Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia Technical Innovation and Supply Chain vice-president Enrique Ackermann said: "Our efforts at expanding rPET in India is a testimony of our commitment to increase the availability of high-quality, food-grade, recycled plastic for consumers in India.  

“With these eco-friendly bottles we seek to drive a circular economy for packaging, reduce waste and carbon emissions, bringing us closer to the World Without Waste goal of making bottles with 50% recycled content by 2030." 

The Coca-Cola Company has already introduced 100% rPET bottles in more than 40 markets globally.  

Through its World Without Waste initiative, it aims to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one it sells by 2030. 

The company plans to make all its packaging recyclable by 2025.

In January this year, Coca-Cola India and Reliance Retail launched a new PET collection and recycling initiative.