Coca-Cola Ireland ditches shrink wrap to reduce plastic packaging waste

Coca-Cola Ireland and its local bottling division say a €13 million investment in an Antrim factory has helped to reduce Coke’s annual Irish plastic waste by 5,000 tonnes since 2019.

Coca-Cola says it has also ditched environmentally damaging plastic shrink wrap from all of its multi-pack can units, in favour of recyclable cardboard. It switched last year to cardboard for its four-, six- and eight-can packs, while larger multipacks of 10, 12, 20 and 24 cans changed to cardboard in April. Coca-Cola said the switch to cardboard eliminates 500 tonnes of shrink wrap annually.

The plant in Lisburn in which €13 million was invested over the past 18 months is operated by Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC), which is a separately-listed company on the London Stock Exchange in which the drinks company owns a share of about 25 per cent. HBC, which has its origins in Greece, owns the bottling franchise for several European countries, mostly in the east.

‘World Without Waste’

The investment is part of a global “World Without Waste” corporate initiative by Coke and its various bottling partners to recycle the equivalent of every can or bottle it sells globally by 2030, while designing more sustainable packaging.

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The drinks group says that all of its cans and bottles in Ireland are recyclable, while 45 per cent of its plastic is made from recyclable materials, eliminating 3,450 tonnes of new plastic annually. It has further reduced the plastic used in its bottles by 10 per cent since 2018, it said.

Miles Karemacher, the general manager of HBC in Ireland, said it is the first soft drinks company in the market here to eliminate plastic shrink wrap from its can multi-packs.

Coca-Cola Ireland’s general manager, Agnese Filippi, said investment in sustainable packaging designs will remain “at the heart of our strategy”.