COCA-COLA MAKES 117 BILLION PLASTIC BOTTLES A YEAR. CAN WE SEE OPPORTUNITY IN CALAMITY?

“Coca-Cola now makes 117 billion plastic bottles a year, according to its own estimates, untold billions of which end up being burned or dumped in landfills and nature.”

When you consider that Coke’s plastic bottles contain 75% virgin and only 25% recycled PET, this represents a huge embodied energy and material consumption.

We also know that Coke was responsible for more waste than any other company in a 2018 global plastic cleanup conducted by the advocacy group Break Free From Plastic, with Coke-branded plastic found along the coasts and in the parks and streets of 40 out of 42 participating countries surveyed.

Clearly, these are troubling figures for households concerned with protecting the natural environment, but is it possible to cast such statistics in a different light? While we cannot depend on producers like Coca-cola to change their record, can the market re-conceptualise the current wasteful situation and shape an opportunity for innovation and investment?

When the inputs of PET and other recyclable materials are so high, the environmental and economic opportunities for a system that can provide a practical recycling solution are enormous.

At ReCircle Recycling, we are at the forefront of research and development in this area, with a domestic recycling appliance that will bring an industry-grade recycling solution to every home. The ReCircle appliance will prevent contamination by keeping your used materials separate and washing them before processing into pure ReProducts® that can be used for remanufacture.

This is a closed-loop recycling solution that enables consumers to intercept the cycle of waste from the comfort of their own homes, preventing those PET Coca-cola bottles from ever ending up in nature, and keeping their embodied value working in the domestic economy.

Explore the materials on our website to find out more, and make sure to follow our newsletter to keep updated with the project.