Coca-Cola Beverages SA pilots 2L returnable PET plastic bottles

The returnable bottles are made of PET plastic and are labelled with a new paper label, with ‘RETURNABLE’ appearing in green on the front of the bottle.

The rollout is being piloted in the Mandela Bay and Border-Kei districts in the Eastern Cape and, if successful, is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the country.

Value for money

The recommended retail price for the 2L Coca-Cola Original Taste – Less Sugar beverage is R15, which excludes a R9 deposit. Other brands, like Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite and Fanta, are also available in the new 2L returnable PET plastic bottle at a recommended retail price of R12 excluding the R9 deposit.

“Through innovation and our infrastructure investment in this packaging line, we are providing consumers with greater value for money, whilst introducing a PET plastic bottle that can be reused,” says Velaphi Ratshefola, managing director of CCBSA.

Once a bottle is returned to Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa, it will go on a looped journey to be cleaned to Coca-Cola’s stringent measures and requirements, then refilled and start its next life-cycle.

When the bottle reaches the end of its 14 useable lifecycles, after being returned to Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa it will be recycled and turned into another PET plastic bottle.

Circular economy

During 2018 more than 98,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET was collected through the PET Recycling Company (PETCO), which Coca-Cola supports, and diverted from landfills in South Africa, which were given a second life through recycling, saving 612,000m2 of landfill space.

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“The launch of these returnable PET bottles is one way in which we are investing in innovative and more sustainable packaging. The new returnable 2L PET plastic bottle also supports The Coca-Cola Company’s global commitments to address the world’s waste problem," said Ratshefola.

“We’re committed to increasing recycled material in our packaging and ensuring more packaging is collected and recycled. The launch of the Returnable PET plastic bottle is another way we can use innovation to unlock the value in waste and support a circular economy in South Africa.”