MEDIA RELEASE
PET PLASTIC BOTTLES TO BE TURNED INTO PLASTIC FLAKE TO HELP WITH RECYCLING
Suva, 7 July 2023: As part of its commitment to increase the amount of PET plastic bottles that are recycled, Coca-Cola in Fiji has purchased a granulator to turn the bottles into plastic flake.
The granulator, one of the first to be operational in the Pacific Islands, is situated at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Fiji’s (CCEPF) factory site in Suva where the bottle buyback scheme Mission Pacific operates. Up until now, PET bottles have been turned into bales before being shipped in containers offshore.
CCEPF General Manager, Roger Hare, says being able to now flake the PET plastic bottles is significant for Mission Pacific.
“Being able to turn PET plastic bottles into flakes significantly reduces the cost of shipping the material offshore as the flake takes up a lot less room in a container than bales.
“We’re also hoping it will allow us to eventually sell into markets we haven’t been able to before because of issues associated with baled bottles.”
CCEPF has operated the Mission Pacific PET bottle and can collection scheme in partnership with Fiji Water and Motibhai since 1999. Collectors are paid a collection refund for returned bottles and cans in three locations across Fiji.
Mr Hare says CCEPF, The Coca-Cola Company and partners want to significantly increase the number of bottles collected in Fiji for recycling.
“We know increasing collection is driven by three things - convenience, accessibility and incentive. We’ve looked at ways to make it easier and more attractive for Fijians to recycle to really try to drive up the number of bottles collected.”
He says the first initiative has been to pilot working with CCEPF’s sister company Paradise Beverages on the home collection of PET bottles together with glass beer bottles.
“Given contractors were already driving trucks around Suva to collect returnable glass beer bottles for Paradise Beverages, we thought this was a great opportunity to trial collecting PET bottles at the same time. A number of contractors have worked with us to extend their collection services to PET bottles with consumers being paid an incentive when they bring their PET bottles to the trucks at the same time as the glass bottles.”
Mr Hare says another new initiative is increasing the number of collection points for people to bring their bottle back to, using mobile caravans.
“The Mission Pacific collection caravans are operating at a number of festivals and events around Suva, for example the Public Rental Board Market carnivals and Fiji Sports Council events. The public are paid 5cents for every bottle they return.
“We’ve been advertising on social media, in newspapers and distributing flyers ahead of the event to let people know we will be there and to bring their PET bottles in for collection. We’d really like to grow this by expanding this network to cover more of the big resorts as well as increasing the number of collection depots.”
He says last year Mission Pacific collected and shipped 140 tonnes of PET offshore for recycling.
“Packaging waste is undoubtedly a major challenge but it’s also a solvable one if we take action. Our plastic bottles have intrinsic value and we need to treat them this way. This means helping to collect and recycle all the plastic bottles we bring to the market so that they can be used again and again, and we can further reduce our overall use of new plastic.”
To learn more, visit www.cocacolaep.com/fj/ and www.coca-cola.com.
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For more information, please contact:
Mathew Lomaloma, CCEP Fiji
Ph: +679 770 7841
Email: mathew.lomaloma@ccep.com
About The Coca-Cola Company:
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is a total beverage company, offering over 500 brands in more than 200 countries. Our portfolio in Fiji includes Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Schweppes and POWERADE. We’re constantly transforming our portfolio, from reducing sugar in our drinks to bringing innovative new products to market. We’re also working to reduce our environmental impact by replenishing water and promoting recycling. With our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people, bringing economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at www.coca-cola.com.
About Coca-Cola Europacific Partners:
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is one of the leading consumer goods companies in the world. We make, move and sell some the world’s most loved brands – serving 600 million consumers and helping 1.75 million customers across 29 countries grow. We combine the strength and scale of a large, multi-national business with an expert, local knowledge of the customers we serve and communities we support. Having access to millions of consumers through more than 15,000 active customers, we are committed to leading through innovation, building a sustainable future and delivering long-term value to shareholders.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is listed on Euronext Amsterdam, the New York Stock Exchange, London Stock Exchange and on the Spanish Stock Exchanges, trading under the symbol CCEP. For more information about CCEP, please visit www.cocacolaep.com and follow CCEP on Twitter at @CCEP.
