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Britvic to move to 100% recycled plastic bottles by end of 2022
Britvic has announced its intent for all plastic bottles in Great Britain to be made from 100% recycled plastic (rPET) by the end of 2022 – three years earlier than originally planned, and ahead of its previous target of 50%. This will cover the entire Great Britain portfolio of Britvic-owned and PepsiCo brands.
This is the latest in a series of sustainable business measures led by the business, including Britvic’s recent move in Ireland to rPET for Ballygowan 500ml bottles and its Fruit Shoot Hydro range switching to 100% rPET in September.
More broadly, Britvic recognises its role in reducing the environmental impact of its packaging and is committed to creating a world where packaging never becomes waste. As a founding signatory of The UK Plastics Pact, the business has already removed more than 1,500 tonnes of primary plastic from its supply chain since 2017 – and all its primary packaging is already fully recyclable.
Britvic has announced it will move to 100% recycled plastic bottles in the UK by the end of 2022 / Picture: Britvic
Britvic recognises the responsibility it has in helping create a circular economy. In 2019, the company entered into a long-term agreement with Esterform Packaging, the UK’s largest convertor of PET, for the supply of recycled plastic. Alongside the agreement, Britvic provided a £5m investment support package for the construction of new state-of-the-art rPET manufacturing facilities, to be powered by 100% renewable energy sources, at their site in North Yorkshire.
In 2019, Britvic joined a cross-industry consortium to promote a groundbreaking recycling technology called BP Infinia that enables opaque and difficult to recycle PET plastic waste to be diverted from landfill or incineration and instead transformed back into recycled feedstocks that can be used to make new high-quality PET plastic packaging again and again, with no loss in quality.
Paul Graham, managing director of Britvic GB, said: “This is a significant moment for Britvic and our partnership with PepsiCo, demonstrating our commitment to protecting the planet for us and future generations. Our intent to move to 100% recycled plastic, along with our investment support package in Esterform Packaging Limited announced last year will help create a truly sustainable circular economy for plastic.”
Sarah Webster, director of sustainable business at Britvic, added: “Sustainability and our ‘Healthier People, Healthier Planet’ agenda sits at the heart of our business strategy. We want to be a net positive contributor to the people and the world around us, and we’re committed to minimising waste and using resources in a sustainable way across our business. Accelerating this move to 100% rPET is the right next step for Britvic to help reduce our impact on the planet.
“Meaningful change cannot be achieved by business alone however, it requires a suite of solutions, which is why we support the swift introduction of a well-designed GB-wide deposit return scheme, and reform of the current producer responsibility system, to create the required investment in UK recycling infrastructure.”