Coca-Cola Co. is celebrating the rollout of its 100% recycled PET bottles in three new markets this fall by partnering with pizzerias in those areas to give away free pizza in return for customers who bring in a plastic bottle for recycling.
Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero Sugar and other Coca-Cola flavors in 20-oz. recycled bottles are beginning to appear in Chicago, Atlanta and the Pacific Northwest. To mark the occasion, the soda company is partnering with one pizza restaurant each in Chicago, Atlanta and New York City for one day each. Customers who bring in any plastic beverage bottle to recycle (including non-Coke products) will get a pizza slice and a 20-oz. Coke beverage in one of the new rPET bottles.
The bottles are made from 100% recycled PET except for the cap and label. These packages first launched in 2021 and are now available in 11 major U.S. markets, including Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Houston, and Dallas.
It’s part of Coke’s “World Without Waste” goal to use at least 50% recycled material in bottles and cans by 2030. These 20-oz. recycled bottles will enable Coca-Cola to save over 37 million pounds of new plastic on an annual basis — the equivalent of approximately 890 million bottles — in 2024 alone, the company estimates. The shift is also estimated to reduce over 39,000 tons of CO2 equivalent annually in the U.S. — like taking 8,400 cars off the road for one year.
