DASANI launches bottle caps made with recycled plastic
The groundbreaking innovation of DASANI bottle closures supports The Coca-Cola Company's vision of making all packaging fully recyclable by 2025 and producing bottles and cans with 50% recycled material by 2030
Coke North America is bringing a new twist to sustainable packaging by using caps made from recycled HDPE (high density polyethylene) plastic – a first in the beverage industry DASANI Bottles.
Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling recently piloted and commercialized the resealable closures, which contain 30% recycled content, on 20-ounce, half-liter and 1-liter DASANI PET bottles across California. The groundbreaking innovation supports The Coca-Cola Company's vision of collecting and recycling the equivalent of a bottle or can for every bottle sold worldwide by 2030. To make all packaging fully recyclable by 2025 and to produce bottles and cans with 50% recycled material by 2030.
“We continued to make progress on our long-term waste reduction goals. Despite this challenging pandemic, we were able to innovate to improve the sustainability of our packaging, ”said Bruce Karas, vice president of environment, sustainability and safety for Coca-Cola North America.
The process of manufacturing plastic closures such as twist-off caps is a challenge from both a manufacturing and regulatory perspective. Threading into an FDA-approved cap must match the threading on the bottle neck perfectly to ensure an airtight seal.
Coca-Cola North America and Coca-Cola Bottling Sales and Services worked closely with resin and closure suppliers to develop a cap made from recycled HDPE – the type of plastic that milk jugs and detergent containers are made from – while meeting all of the technical requirements and Meet food safety requirements.
"This is no mean feat," Karas added, noting that most of the caps on the market are made from virgin plastic. “Closures and labels are often overlooked in the overall context of sustainable packaging, but they are just as important as bottles and cans. Using recycled content in caps is a clear example of how World Without Waste challenges us to rethink existing models. "
Suzana Keller, Chief Procurement Officer of the Coca-Cola Bottlers Sales and Service Company (CCBSS), added: “We couldn't be excited about this work because it gives our consumers the full innovative capabilities of the Coca-Cola system View of sustainability. In addition, we will continue our work by raising recycling awareness in the communities where we operate to improve collection rates. This will intensify our efforts by allowing us to keep using recycled materials on the roadside. "
The groundbreaking development was recognized with the coveted Plastics News 2020 Plastics Caps & Closures Innovation Award as the first beverage closure made from recycled post-consumer content.
The California pilot also included a monolayer label for DASANI bottles with 40% less plastic than existing labels. These new labels are easier to separate in the recycling stream, making bottles easier to recycle and use to make new bottles.
These developments will drive demand for recycled materials and support a circular, job-creating economy.
"Every time we use recycled material we reduce our carbon footprint and help create an end market for our PET bottles and HDPE closures, which is very positive," said Karas.
Coca-Cola North America continued to invest in community recycling during the pandemic to increase the collection of its bottles and cans. The company has local organizations like Conservation Corp. grants from Long Beach and I Love a Clean San Diego, California, as well as national collaborations with The Recycling Partnership and The Closed Loop Fund to support roadside collection programs.
In 2019, Coca-Cola partnered with the American Beverage Association to create a $ 100M / £ 77.6M fund to support recycling infrastructure and education programs for communities in 10 major cities.
"As people spend more time at home, we see the opportunity to do more to make sure people have the opportunity to recycle by the roadside," Karas said.
DASANI has been leading the innovation of sustainable packaging since 2009 with the introduction of PlantBottle, the first fully recyclable bottle made partially from plants. In 2018, the brand was the first major water brand to launch DASANI PureFill, a pack-free water dispenser unit. DASANI plans to remove the equivalent of 1 billion new PET bottles from its US supply chain over the next five years.
