Coca-Cola tweaks its caps to boost circularity

In the keynote presentation at Plastics Caps + Closures 2023, Jacob Long, Coca-Cola Co.'s senior manager of global procurement, focused on his company's sustainability efforts and the challenges facing industry and individuals.

The top priority in closures, he said, is reducing virgin material use by two paths: incorporating post-consumer high density polyethylene (rHDPE), and downsizing closures and neck finishes from 28 millimeters (1.1 inches) to 26 mm (1 inch).

So far, these measures are taking place mainly overseas, though Coca-Cola already uses a small amount of recycled HDPE in its Dasani water bottles in the U.S.

While closures make up a very small part of Coca-Cola's resin use, with these efforts the company expects to save more than 150,000 metric tons (almost 330.7 million pounds) of material annually.

The company also is seeing a boost in plastic closure recycling in the European Union, where legislation will require tethered closures by July 3, 2024. Long said the company is currently at 50 percent conversion to tethered closures in those areas and will reach 100 percent by the deadline. He admitted, however, that companies aren't likely to invest in conversion efforts elsewhere, including the United States, unless driven by such legislation.

Also, despite rising interest in chemical recycling (also called advanced recycling), Coca-Cola remains focused on mechanical recycling for now. Long said he sees mechanical recycling as a more sustainable technology that produces higher yields and fewer emissions, while requiring less energy. Yet, there will be a place for chemical recycling in Coca-Cola's future.

"[There are] some areas of the world where mechanically recycled food-grade material is not legally permitted in our beverage closures, so in those areas, advanced recycling will move a little bit faster," he said.

Where it is permitted, Long said, his company seeks to focus on and drive the use of recycled HDPE in closures. He sees this as a practical alternative to trying to homogenize myriad recycling infrastructures, which often vary from town to town.

"We have around 200 bottling partners worldwide that operate out of over 900 production facilities," he added.

Last year, the company reached a goal of making 90 percent of its packaging recyclable globally, he said. The next goal is 100 percent by 2025.

"We're also looking to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one we sell by 2030," he said, and shift 25 percent of its beverages sold worldwide into refillable or returnable formats.

In a question and answer period after Long's presentation, Plastics News Editor Don Loepp noted that many Coke products are packaged in glass and aluminum and asked, "Do plastics have a future in a circular economy?"

Long responded: "We need to find a way to build our current society into one that is circular, one that is waste-free." But he emphasized that doesn't mean plastics-free: "Everything has some sort of resin in it, and many of the items that we use every day — whether it's technology, building materials, toys, cars — these use polyolefins, and polyolefins are what we use in our closures and our labels. … Plastics absolutely play a part in a circular economy."

Long noted that, in the past few years, "the conversation around sustainability has moved up on the priority list significantly" at Coca-Cola.

"We see climate change happening all around us, from fires in Canada to hurricanes in the U.S. to floods in Pakistan and rising sea levels in the South Pacific. This is an issue that impacts all of us," Long said.

One of the company's high-priority goals is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. It's a big task, but one that can be accomplished.

"Shifting an industry is hard. It's going to take time," he said. "It will be challenging."

Plastics Caps + Closures 2023 drew more than 600 registrants to the Oct. 11 online forum to learn the latest insights into trends and sustainability efforts in the beverage packaging segment.
The joint conference from Plastics News and its Europe-based sister publication Sustainable Plastics addressed recycling, lightweighting, legislation, tethered closures, product claims, materials, design and the circular economy, among other topics.