Coca-Cola join forces with Pepsi and Dr Pepper for plastic waste initiative

Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Dr Pepper have announced a new initiative to combat plastic waste.

Keurig Dr Pepper, PepsiCo, and The Coca-Cola Company joined with the American Beverage Association (ABA) to launch the “Every Bottle Back” initiative, which also includes World Wildlife Fund (WWF), The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners.

All of the bottles made by the ABA companies are made from a strong plastic material called PET that is 100% recyclable and can easily be remade into new plastic bottles and many other everyday products.

They say they are unique because they can be used again and remade into something new, and not end up in oceans, rivers, beaches and landfills.

The new “Every Bottle Back” scheme will reduce the use of new plastics in the U.S, this progress will be measured by WWF’s ReSource tool. The beverage companies will invest $100 million in improving sorting, processing and collection of discarded plastic bottles.

Katherine Lugar, President and CEO of the American Beverage Association, said: “Our bottles are designed to be remade, and that is why this program is so important… ‘Every Bottle Back’ will ensure that our plastic bottles are recovered after use and remade into new bottles, so we can reduce the amount of new plastic used to bring our beverages to market.”

The initiative will also look at raising consumers’ awareness of recycling bottles through a public awareness and community outreach campaign to promote recycling.

Jim Dinkins, President of Coca-Cola North America, said: "We’re proud to come together with our competitors to address the serious issue of plastic waste in our environment. We know we cannot do this alone and, in order to meet our goals and those of our industry, we need to work in partnership to drive collective action to ensure our bottles have second, third and fourth lives through continued recycling and re-use.”

Photograph: The Coca-Cola Company