Surprise! Because of it, the parent companies of PepsiCo, Coca Cola, and Qixi, the three major soft drink giants in the United States, have collaborated together

Recently, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Keurig Dr Pepper, the three major soft drink giants in the United States, came together to pledge to jointly promote an ambitious sustainability initiative.

Keurig Dr Pepper is a newly listed company formed after Keurig Green Mountain acquired soft drinks company Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (the parent company of Seven Joy). It owns American soft drink brands such as Dr Pepper, Seven Joy and Sunkist and coffee brand Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

At a joint press conference last week, the three companies announced the launch of the "Every Bottle Back" program, which aims to improve plastic waste pollution in the United States.

The three companies announced the launch of Every Bottle Back at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., which aims to improve the U.S. plastic waste problem.

Project components: reduce, recycle, educate, label

Coca-Cola said in a statement that the Every Bottle Back project has four key components, including:

(1) Partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to track plastic use using WWF's ReSource: Plastic measurement to reduce the use of raw plastics in the United States;

(2) partnered with The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners to invest $1 million to improve infrastructure for sorting, processing and collecting plastic bottles;

(3) Popularize public awareness education and enhance consumer recognition of the value of 100% recyclable plastics;

(4) From the end of 2020, consumers will be informed that PET plastic bottles are 100% recyclable through packaging label information.

The project is driven by the American Beverage Association (ABA), which is committed to bringing together beverage giants to explore sustainable solutions, including reducing the use of virgin plastics in the industry and investing more in recycling infrastructure across the country.

According to ABA research data, through packaging lightweight design and reduction, U.S. beverage companies have used hundreds of millions of pounds of packaging raw materials.

The three companies will work to promote the recycling of PET plastic bottles.

Katherine Lugar, President and CEO of ABA, said:

"We are delighted to be working with leading environmental organizations and recycling agencies to establish a closed-loop system for the production, use, recycling and regeneration of plastics. The Every Bottle Back project ensures that all plastic bottles can be recycled after use, including caps, to reduce the use of primary plastic. ”

Cooperation with environmental organizations and circular economy agencies

Through Every Bottle Back, the three companies have partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the most prominent environmental nonprofit organization in the United States, and The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners, leading investors focused on developing a circular economy.

WWF will provide strategic guidance to help assess the industry's progress in reducing its plastic footprint, while The Recycling Partnership and Closed Loop Partners will assist in deploying funding for the initiative.

Sheila Bonini, Senior Vice President, Private Sector Operations, WWF, said: "The goal of being plastic-free by 2030 can only be achieved if businesses, governments and NGO groups work together to repair plastic material systems that have been damaged. ”

Keefe Harrison, CEO of The Recycling Partnership, said: "The beverage industry cannot deliver on the promise of sustainable packaging without a major overhaul of the existing U.S. recycling system. Working with the beverage industry on Every Bottle Back will help improve local recycling and provide a stronger recycling program for all materials, including plastic bottles. ”

Ron Gonen, CEO of Closed Loop Partners, added: "Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper and PepsiCo provide the necessary investments to optimize recycling in their countries. This partnership will serve as a model for industry collaboration in modernizing recycling infrastructure and reducing the use of virgin plastics. ”

What will be the impact?

The Every Bottle Back project will directly affect 900 million people in 2300 million households in the United States, covering the Midwest/Northeast, Southeast, Texas and the West Coast of the United States, as these regions have more mature PET recycling facilities that can turn PET bottles into PET pellets for the production of new products.

Through the Every Bottle Back project, an additional 8 million pounds (equivalent to 000,3 tons) of PET bottles will be collected each year. Overall, 6 million pounds (equivalent to 3,13 tons) of recycled PET bottles will be recycled each year instead of ending up in water or landfills.

In addition, the three companies' investment in the U.S. recycling system will help collect more high-quality recyclables.

Through the Every Bottle Back project, an additional 8000 million pounds of PET bottles will be collected each year.

All three companies have set strategic goals in reducing plastic waste

The three soft drink giants have all established sustainability goals and demonstrated their commitment to tackling plastic waste, and this collaboration is part of their commitment to sustainability.

Coca-Cola's European partners and Coca-Cola in Western Europe have committed to collecting one bottle for every bottle sold by 2025; Ensure that all its packaging is 100% recyclable; Make sure plastic bottles contain at least 50% recycled plastic content.

In 2019, the Coca-Cola system invested €1 million throughout its operations in Western Europe, as well as in developing packaging-free solutions for the future of new packaging to achieve sustainable packaging.

In addition, Coca-Cola-designed PlantBottle, a bioplastic bottle, has achieved a carbon dioxide reduction of 15,<> metric tons in North America.

PepsiCo plans to make its packaging 2025% recyclable, compostable and biodegradable by 100.

"We're trying to build a world that's free of plastic." Kirk Tanner, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages North America, said: "We are honored to join forces with our peers and other partners to advance this vision and conduct the necessary public awareness education to promote plastic waste collection and recycling. Using more recycled plastic means using less virgin plastic. ”

In addition, Keurig Dr Pepper plans to make packaging 2025% recyclable or compostable by 100 and use packaging with 30% post-consumer recycled plastic content across all product portfolios.