Coca-Cola Europacific Partners leads Pacific PET circularity program

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Australia (CCEP) has announced that the first shipment of community-collected PET from Vanuatu — totalling 9.4 tonnes — has arrived in Melbourne for processing at CPA’s PET plastic recycling facility in Altona North. Part of a regional program, this initiative for CCEP marks what the company says is an important early step in establishing a regular pathway for Pacific-collected plastic to be recycled into new beverage bottles in Australia.

The program is part of an initiative with Circular Plastics Australia (CPA) — a joint venture between Pact Group, Cleanaway Waste Management, Asahi Beverages and CCEP — to help reduce plastic waste in the Pacific and scale producer responsibility across borders.

Pacific Island nations face disproportionately high impacts from plastic pollution due to limited recycling infrastructure, meaning most PET currently cannot be processed in-market.

“Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is proud to be spearheading this initiative, because creating true circularity in the Pacific requires solutions that operate across borders,” said Orlando Rodriguez, Managing Director – Australia at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. “By moving community-collected PET into Australia’s established recycling system, we’re demonstrating that small island nations can fully participate in a modern circular economy, even when local recycling infrastructure is limited.

“It’s a powerful example of what industry collaboration can achieve, and we’re committed to scaling this model so more Pacific communities can benefit.”

Two further shipments, from Fiji and Papua New Guinea, are scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, as the initiative expands across PNG, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. The program is anticipated to import up to 2000 tonnes over the next 12 months, with potential to scale up to 6000 tonnes per annum in the coming year.

Key investments include funding and installing early-stage processing equipment in Pacific communities to prepare PET for transport, and the provision of pro bono ocean freight services by Swire Shipping to ensure viable logistics for the region.

“CPA’s plastic recycling facilities were established to process PET beverage bottles collected through Australia’s container deposit schemes and kerbside recycling bins. Incorporating additional material from Pacific Island nations is a natural extension of that capability and means we can recycle more PET into high-quality food grade resin and help underpin a circular economy that benefits the whole region,” said Justin Knott, General Manager Sales and Marketing, CPA.

The recycled PET resin produced at the CPA facilities is used by CCEP and Asahi Beverages to manufacture new beverage bottles, and by Pact Group to make food packaging.

Image credit: iStock.com/zepp1969