Coca-Cola said today that all plastic bottles across its soft drinks' products in Ireland and Northern Ireland are now made with 100% recycled plastic.
The new 100% recycled plastic bottle are also 100% recyclable.
They will be used across the full range of Coca-Cola products, such as Coca-Cola Original Taste, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, and for other beverage brands owned by the company, including Fanta and Sprite.
The drinks group said this key sustainability milestone on the island of Ireland will lead to the elimination of an additional 7,100 tonnes of virgin plastic from circulation annually.
It said that over €20m has been invested in the past few years in both developing sustainable packaging solutions through enhancement of the Coca-Cola HBC plant in Lisburn and in the purchase of recycled plastic material.
This investment has enabled the roll out of new packaging innovations, including today's announcement to move to 100% recycled plastic and the recent introduction of KeelClip packaging in the market.
Coca-Cola said the move is also part of a series of product changes being implemented by it in advance of the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) here early next year.
Agnese Filippi, Country Manager at Coca-Cola Ireland, said today marks an important milestone on the company realising its ambition of a World Without Waste.
"Reaching this point encourages us to continue to push further with our sustainability goals," Ms Filippi said.
"As the biggest beverage brand on the island, we have a clear responsibility and opportunity to contribute to a circular economy - our actions make a big difference," she said.
"At Coca-Cola Ireland, we will continue to challenge ourselves to reduce our packaging footprint and work with Irish consumers, government and local authorities to create a true circular economy for our plastic bottles and cans," she added.
