Bottlers Re-considering Recycling Efforts

A Wall Street Journal article has reported that soft drink makers Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, and PepsiCo Inc., Purchase, N.Y., are cooperating on a task force to boost bottle recycling as well as pursuing separate efforts to increase the recycling of plastic soft drink and water bottles.

Coca-Cola told the newspaper that it “plans to build a plant that will be able to recycle as many as two billion 20-ounce bottles a year.” However, the company would not provide information on where the plant might be located or when it might open.

Overseas, the company has built recycling plants in Latin America, Australia, Asia and Europe. In the U.S., however, the company says it currently uses less than 5 percent recycled content in bottles, but that opening such a plant might help it reach a 10 percent or higher rate.

Feedstock for the proposed plant may come from recycling plants that Coke and its biggest bottler, Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc., are considering establishing.

Coca-Cola is part of a task force organized by the trade group the American Beverage Association that also includes participation from PepsiCo Inc. and Nestlé SA, according to the Wall Street Journal report.

The task force is studying consumer behavior and increased publicity for bottle recycling.

Municipal recycling incentive program marketer RecycleBank is also reportedly in negotiation with Pepsi to establish a bottle recycling program, according to the news article.

The article speculates that the major beverage companies may face an increasingly tough time staving off new state deposit and return laws as elected officials respond to constituents who are paying increased attention to environmental issues.