Coca-Cola Announces Change To Its Bottles

Coca-Cola has revealed it's changing part of the design of its bottles.

While Cristiano Ronaldo might not be a fan of fizzy drinks because of his strict fitness regime, maybe he won't be so swift in moving the bottles to the side after he hears about the new change coming to their design.

Coca-Cola Great Britain has revealed an update to the style of the bottles in a bid to prevent littering and boost recycling.

In a design move which is reported as being the first for any major soft drinks company, Coca-Cola drinks will soon have attached caps.

The change is set to come into place this month in Scotland and will be seen first on 1.5 litre bottles of Fanta, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar and Diet Coke.

By early 2024, it is hoped all of the company's plastic bottles will have switched to the new design.

Jon Woods, Coca-Cola Great Britain's general manager, stated: "This is a small change that we hope will have a big impact, ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, no cap gets left behind.

"As the world’s biggest drinks company, we recognise that we have a leading role to play in pushing innovation and design to produce more high-quality recycled plastic which can be converted into new bottles."

Brands and retailers have been coming up with initiatives to encourage consumers to recycle and reduce plastic waste under the UK Plastics Pact.

It is hoped that with the attached caps, Coca-Cola consumers will be encouraged to recycle the entire product, rather than just discarding or littering the caps and binning the bottles.

Jo Churchill, DEFRA resources and waster minister, said: "More businesses are finding innovative ways to tackle harmful plastic pollution and Coca-Cola’s new design will make it easier for people to recycle and help reduce litter."

However, delays to the deposit return scheme have also caused hold-ups to initiatives under the pact.

It was first planned in 2018.

The scheme is now anticipated as only being implicated in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2024 at the earliest, despite the government having promised to bring it in by 2023.

Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) spokesperson Adam Herriott called Coca-Cola's design change a 'great move' which 'supports the ongoing work with the UK Plastics Pact in trying to ensure that as much plastic packaging is captured and recycled as possible'.

According to Herriott, in 2020, plastic recycling increased from 44 per cent to 52 per cent.

He said: "The small changes are what adds up to make a big difference and when it comes to recycling, the higher quality of the material the better.

"We look forward to seeing more innovations in this area."