Coca-Coca Bottling Company UNITED is committed to creating a World Without Waste and has a goal of using 50 percent recycled material in their bottles by 2030. The bottling company is partnering with O-I Glass to capture more recycled glass to be created into new glass bottles.
“We previously sent our glass bottles to a local recycler that used the material in fiberglass,” said Corey Tucker, Warehouse and Logistics Manager for Coca-Cola UNITED’s Marietta, Georgia, USA, production centre. “But now, the centre’s recycled glass will be taken to O-I’s plant in Danville, Virginia, and remade into new glass bottles.
“Glass is 100 percent recyclable and infinitely recyclable, making it the ideal packaging material to support a low-waste, circular economy. Recycled glass is a main ingredient in manufacturing new glass bottles and jars, and the more that’s used in each batch saves on energy and decreases emissions. O-I is committed to our 10 sustainability goals, which include increasing recycled content to 50 percent average by 2030.
“We started to look at all of our recyclables and where they end up. We contacted O-I because they supply our glass bottles and we learned that they have a team dedicated to increasing glass recycling,” said Tammy Stubbs, Sustainability Director for Coca-Cola UNITED. “The team at O-I is laser-focused on implementing solutions to allow more glass to be recycled and used in glass packaging.”
“Our ability to increase the average recycled content in O-I containers largely depends on the amount of recycled glass available,” said Sammy Holaschutz, recycling systems development leader at O-I. “We need others in the glass value chain – our customers, other industries and certainly consumers – to help increase glass recycling rates. The action taken by Coca-Cola UNITED to promote recycling and circularity sets a strong example.”
Through the partnership, Coca-Cola UNITED expects to recycle more than 700,000 out-of-date and damaged bottles annually. Collaborating with partners like Coca-Cola UNITED is a vital step in boosting the amount of recycled glass in the manufacturing stream and creating a more sustainable future.