Coca-Cola has revealed the first ever sample bottle made using recovered and recycled plastics from the sea. The ultimate goal would be to take ocean debris and use it in recycled packaging for food or drinks. So far, the company has made 300 sample bottles using 25% recycled marine plastic, retrieved from the Mediterranean Sea and beaches. These ‘enhanced recycling’ technologies show the potential of transforming previously used plastics of any quality back to the high-quality needed for food-grade packaging.
Enhanced recycling technologies make use of innovative processes that break down the components of plastic and strip out most of its impurities in lower-grade recyclables so they can be remade as new. In other words, the plastics destined for incineration or landfill can now be given new life, while reducing the amount of virgin PET needed from fossil fuels, thus resulting in a lower carbon footprint. The sample bottle was created in a partnership between Ioniqa Technologies, Indorama Ventures, Mares Circulares (Circular Seas) and The Coca-Cola Company.