Coca-Cola is rolling out its first-ever soft drink bottle made from 100% recycled plastic.
At 13.2 ounces, the bottle is a unique size for Coke – smaller than the standard 20-ounce single-serve, but bigger than 12-ounce aluminum cans. It’s the first new size for the company in more than a decade, CNN reports. The new bottle will be available this month in selected areas, including the Northeast, California and Florida, before a national rollout this summer.
A 100% recycled package is something of a Holy Grail for the food & beverage industry. The major challenge is coming up with a recycling process that will meet the requirements of the FDA and other global regulatory bodies for product-contact applications. Coca-Cola developed a process that involves grinding used bottles down into flakes.
The stakes are high. Coca-Cola has received a great deal of criticism over the amount of litter its plastic bottles generate. California will require all plastic beverage bottles to consist of at least 50% post-consumer resin by 2030.
