Coca-Cola looks to France to build on UK recycling success

Both the UK and France have been targeted by the bottler as countries where recycling rates of PET bottles can be significantly improved.

Building on its reprocessing partnership with Eco Plastics in Lincolnshire, the company announced in late 2012 that it would enter into a second joint venture to recycle more of its PET bottles with French reprocessor APPE. It is also undertaking detailed work in both countries to study the psychology of consumer waste habits.

Coca-Cola Enterprises’ latest initiative has seen it team up with French retail group Casino to educate consumers through a ‘Give a new life to your bottle’ campaign. The two organisations intend to improve recycling in France where only one in two plastic bottles are recycled.

Nearly 80,000 consumers have been involved and have expressed their desire to be engaged on a daily basis, making actual recycling pledges, online or via print forms.

A part of a broader three-year recycling strategy, the initiative will run again this summer across a larger number of retail stores such as Monoprix and Casino Proximité.

According to Coca-Cola Enterprises’ associate director of recycling Emmanuelle Badouix, the company’s commitment is to reduce the carbon footprint of its products by one third.

“Packaging represents half of that impact. We have partnered with APPE to create the joint venture Infineo which enables us to incorporate more recycled plastic in our packaging. The consumer is the first link in the chain, which is why it is essential to educate and engage them on these issues,” she said.

Casino’s director of CSR Matthew Riche added that it was essential to partner with industry players.

“These are global, complex issues, and we must act together to explain them to the consumer,” he said.

Maxine Perella