PetStar opens PET recycling plant in Mexico

Coca-Cola Mexico has officially opened what the bottling company says is the largest food-grade PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle-to-bottle recycling facility in the world. Following the investment of more than $100 million by Coca-Cola’s system, along with a number of partners on the project, the PetStar facility is now able to process up to 65,000 tons of PET bottles per year, doubling the facility’s capacity in Toluca, Mexico, according to the company.

Helping commemorate the opening of the facility, President of Mexico Enrique Peña Nieto inaugurated the PetStar facility. Partners that have invested in the facility include the Coca-Cola system in Mexico, Arca Continental, as well as other Coca-Cola bottlers in Mexico and other partners.

Through the use of advanced technologies the PetStar plant will allow partner bottlers Arca Continental, Bepensa, Grupo RICA, Corporacion del Fuerte, Embotelladora de Collima and Embotelladora del Nayarrecycle to recycle 70 percent of the PET bottles used by the bottlers in the country.

“This important project is part of its commitment to Coca-Cola with the well-being through the development of a friendlier packaging environment,” says Francisco Crespo, president of Coca-Cola Mexico. “Thanks to PetStar we are contributing to our global goal to incorporate recycled material in all our packages. And today, millions of them have up to 100 percent.”

Francisco Garza Egloff, director general of Arca Continental, says such efforts reiterate the continued commitment of the Mexican Coca-Cola industry with the development of the country and preservation of the environment.

Egloff says, “Sustainability is part of our business strategy in the long run, as we seek to make a positive mark on our environment and communities, and actively participate in the overall development of society. In addition to a major environmental, economic and social impact, PetStar includes a cultural and educational projects because we try to also be a transformational agent in the Mexico of today and future generations.”