Coca-Cola Makes Pact To Clean Up Rivers Globally, Make 100% Recyclable Packaging

Coca-Cola has recently stepped up its efforts in the fight against plastic pollution, first teaming up with The Ocean Cleanup to tackle waste in 15 of the world’s major rivers. 

One of the rivers is the Can Tho River in Can Tho City, Vietnam, at which the two organizations will oversee advanced technology that can clean up the waste spoiling the beauty of the natural waters.

As reported by Forbes, The Ocean Cleanup has noted that 1,000 rivers in the world are responsible for 80% of the plastic that make it to the oceans. Hence, the River Interceptor program is the ideal way to tackle the problem.

Dan Leahy, Chief Development Officer of The Ocean Cleanup, told the site that Coca-Cola will become the first Global Implementation Partner for the project.

This means it will deal with the logistics and regulations surrounding the operation, including liaising with government officials, locating funding, and securing operators to process the waste. 

In addition to unclogging water bodies, the company has also invested in plant-based and package-less technologies in order to make 100% of its global packaging recyclable by 2025. Plus, it is working towards a closed-loop system in which it can recycle every bottle and can it sells by 2030.

To reach these goals, Coca-Cola founded the Packaging Recovering Organization in Vietnam, working together with government agencies, recycling bodies, and other organizations in the region to create sustainable ways to recycle used packaging.

According to Inhabitant, in 2020, the brand released its first 100% recycled plastic bottle in Vietnam for its Dasani line. In 2021, it changed Sprite bottles from their iconic green color to a clear PET bottle in order to encourage recycling. 

With one of the world’s largest global players taking packaging waste head on, it’s a hopeful sign that recyclable, sustainable packaging will be a reality in most of our purchases very soon. 

[via Forbes and Inhabitant, cover image via Steven Cukrov | Dreamstime.com]