In Croatia, Coca-Cola made a new step toward accomplishing its World Without Waste vision and, in late May this year, introduced attached plastic bottle caps to its consumers in the Croatian market.
This decision was part of Coca‑Cola’s ongoing transition across Europe to meet the provisions on closures of plastic beverage containers in the EU Directive on Single-use Plastics. It is intended to boost the collection and recycling of plastic caps, together with bottles, to help reduce packaging waste. The new cap design is also another milestone on Coca‑Cola’s journey and the company’s commitment to collect for recycling or reuse a bottle or can for every one it sells by 2030, and to go further, faster, where it can, to help remove packaging waste.
Production of the new attached cap design has begun in May across the portfolio of Coca‑Cola’s soft drink and water brands in the Croatian market.
Coca-Cola’s attached caps are an innovative design solution and important step in its innovations program. The bottle is opened in the same way as a standard bottle, the only novelty being a ring with a simple string that allows the cap to fit perfectly on the bottleneck. The cap is inseparable from the ring on the bottle, whereas the string keeps it in an ideal position after opening, without impeding the use of the beverage.
„Coca-Cola shares the European Union’s commitment to promoting the collection and recycling of packaging waste. Our goal is to help remove packaging waste, while also working on discovering the most sustainable ways for our consumers to enjoy our beverages, which will be beneficial both for them and for the planet. Attached caps are a result of our ongoing commitment to innovation in the field of sustainable packaging and our cooperation with our partners. We will take the transition to attached caps as an opportunity to promote recycling messages, supporting our drive towards 100% collection of both bottle and cap,”, said Dora Strezova-Nikolova, CEO of Coca-Cola HBC Adria.
The caps were tested in Coca-Cola’s packaging research and development laboratory in Brussels to ensure a pleasant user experience is provided, while also maintaining convenience, hygiene and functionality. The caps are also compliant with all legal requirements and the most stringent technical and safety standards. In addition, the cap’s design should make recycling easier. Specifically, it will now be much easier to recycle the entire packaging together with its closure attached to the bottle. Comprehensive surveys and tests among consumers were conducted across Europe to define and develop an adequate solution, accompanied by clear messages about the new cap.
For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/43pVtvh
Coca-Cole HBC Croatia’s accomplishments in achieving the World Without Waste vision:
- Total use of plastic was reduced by ¼ in the past 10 years, solely as a result of using lighter bottles developed in cooperation with our suppliers and partners.
- As much as 99.9% of primary packaging is recyclable.
- Römerquelle was the first water brand in the Croatian market to exclusively use bottles made of 100% recycled plastic across its portfolio and has done so for several years now.
- The KeelClip™ has replaced plastic wraps for all multiple can packs.