Cyprus Mail 27 November 2019 - article by Gina Agapiou
The Coca Cola company in Cyprus said on Wednesday it was banning the use of shrink-wrap in its multipacks of cans and replacing it with 100 per cent recyclable cardboard from a sustainable source.
Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) said it aims to spend €15 million to change the current plastic packaging, which was also recyclable, with KeelClip cardboard as part of the company’s attempts to solve the packaging problem by 2021 and reduce waste.
“As a company in the business of bottling, selling and activating beverage brands in 28 markets, we at Coca‑Cola HBC understand the problem and our role in addressing it,” said a statement on the company’s website.
The new packaging is implemented for the first time in non-alcoholic beverages and will also reduce the paper used, said the HBC group.
Multipacks of up to eight cans will be packaged with KeelClip cardboard while bigger quantities of cans will be packaged in harder cardboard.
“The initiative will save 2,000 tonnes of plastic in total and 3,000 tonnes CO2 per year,” said Coca Cola HBC.
The transition was announced in England in mid-September and will first start in Ireland and Poland in the beginning of the upcoming year. The commitment is part of Coca Cola’s plan called “World Without Waste” along with the goal to collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for each one they sell by 2030.
