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ALL BOTTLES 500ML OR LESS IN GREAT BRITAIN ARE NOW MADE FROM 100% RECYCLED PLASTIC (except for label and cap)

Brands including Coca‑Cola Original Taste, Coca‑Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite and Dr Pepper are now more sustainable than ever thanks to the milestone move.

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At Coca‑Cola Great Britain, we are committed to achieving 100% recycled in all of our bottles, as part of our ambition to make our packaging as sustainable as possible.

We’re making great progress on this journey, and now we’re very excited to reveal that all our plastic bottles of 500ml or less appearing on store shelves in Great Britain are made with 100% recycled plastic (excluding the cap and the label). This milestone means that we have increased the amount of recycled plastic in our smaller bottles from 50% to 100% by2024.

“It takes 75% less energy to make a plastic bottle from recycled plastic,” said Helen Bird, Strategic Technical Manager at WRAP. “It’s positive to see Coke, founding members of The UK Plastics Pact, continuing to push the boundaries on design and engaging with its customers to place the bottles in the recycling.”

We welcome the Government’s recent announcement that a DRS will be implemented in October 2027 across England, Wales, and Scotland, and will continue to work closely with officials, retailers and the industry to ensure that the scheme is easy to use, while delivering the best outcome for the environment.   

The then environment minister, Rebecca Pow, Environment Minister, commented on the launch of the scheme]: “We are committed to crack down on plastic pollution through our landmark reforms such as a deposit return scheme for drinks containers and making manufacturers more responsible for their packaging. Bold measures of this nature from industry will play a huge role in helping us to achieve this ambition.”

What’s the answer?

We know this isn’t a new problem and that’s why we’ve been working hard to create sustainable solutions. For many years, we’ve been working with partners all over the world to do the things we believe will help the most:

  • Supporting recycling programmes and infrastructure to better recover our bottles and cans for reuse
  • Running consumer awareness and education campaigns around recycling
  • Partnerships that protect and clean up our seas and waterways. For example, our projects with WWF and the Rivers Trust
  • Working globally with organisations such as WWF, Ocean Conservancy and The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, with initiatives such as the New Plastics Economy
  • Sponsoring clean-ups, such as the International Coastal Cleanup, the largest single-day volunteer event that helps clean the world’s waterways
  • And, of course, developing and refining our packaging so that not only is it all 100% recyclable, but it’s lighter and uses less plastic than ever before:

The future

Our packaging is valuable – we want to get it back into the system so we can recycle and reuse it and so none of it ends up where it shouldn’t.

What can we do in Great Britain?

Closer to home we’ve taken steps to make a meaningful difference. This includes investing in

We also support the announcement that a deposit return scheme (DRS) will be implemented in October 2027; a move that will support our ambition to recycle every single can and bottle we put onto the market. To make sure DRS is a success, we must have truly interoperable schemes in place across England, Scotland and Wales. Having a common approach will ensure we have a best-in class system in place – and is the only way we will improve the circular economy and cut litter.

But, we know there’s a lot more to do – this is one of the most important issues we face as a business. We want to do our part to help find solutions which really help.