Coca-cola to build plastics recycling plant in effort to appear more green

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: Coca-Cola, recycling, health news

(NewsTarget) The Coca-Cola Company has announced plans for a $60-million initiative to give itself a "greener" image, including the construction of a $44-million plastic-bottle recycling plant.

The 30-acre plant, to be built in Spartanburg, S.C., will recycle old plastic beverage bottles into new bottles. It is expected to open in 2008, and when fully operational should recycle approximately 100 million pounds of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic per year, the equivalent of approximately two billion 20-ounce soda bottles.

Also included in Coke's $60-million plan is Coca-Cola Recycling, a $10-million joint-recycling venture between the company and Coca-Cola Enterprises, a subsidiary bottling company. Coca-Cola Recycling plans to open nine centralized recycling centers throughout the United States in 2007, with an additional 35 in 2008, to implement a standard recycling process for the packaging that the Coca-Cola Company produces and receives.

Coke has also allotted another $6 million to existing curbside recycling programs in Delaware, New Jersey and the city of Philadelphia.

In addition to the $60-million plan, Coke has other programs in place to help green its image. The company has introduced a line of products called Eco-Fashion, with clothing, bags, wallets and jewelry made partially out of recycled material. A single bracelet made out of a recycled soda can and sterling silver retails on the company's web site for $110.

"In the scheme of things, [Coke's plan] is not a huge investment," said John Faucher, a beverage analyst at JPMorgan, "but Coke and Pepsi are continuing to fight a public-relations battle on recycling. When you are relying on the brands' imagery to drive value, you have to be proactive. You can't sit there and take all the punches on it."

Beverage companies have come under intensified criticism recently for the waste produced by the billions of plastic bottles that they make yearly, as well as the petroleum used in the bottles' manufacture.