Coca-Cola India launches rPET water bottle

Coca-Cola India, a Coca-Cola Co. subsidiary headquartered in Gurugram, India, has launched a 100 percent-recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) water bottle. The food-grade rPET will be produced by Srichakra Polyplast India Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, India, on a Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line.  

“We are proud to supply the recycled PET resin for India’s first beverage bottle that is made from 100 percent rPET," Ravindra PV, managing director at Srichakra Polyplast, says. “With Starlinger’s PET recycling process, which has received positive opinions from EFSA [The European Food Safety Authority] and approvals from FSSAI [Food Safety and Standards Authority of India], we ensure thorough decontamination of the PET in the recycling process and produce food-safe rPET pellets for PET bottle preform production and other types of food packaging.”  

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Coca-Cola India will use the new rPET bottle for its packaged water brand, Kinley, which is sold in 33-ounce bottles. The launch of the rPET bottle became possible after FSSAI approved the use of recycled PET in food packaging, following a thorough food safety review of the material. 

“Aligned with our vision of creating a world without waste, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute towards creating a circular economy,” Enrique Ackermann, vice president, technical innovation and supply chain at Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, says. “We are proud to be the first beverage company in India to offer our consumers a sustainable choice of packaging by launching Kinley bottles made from 100 percent-recycled PET. Our new bottles made with food-grade rPET have value beyond their initial use, as they are fully recyclable and can be repurposed into new bottles. This is also an endeavor on our part to complement the government of India’s Swachh Bharat [Clean India] Mission initiative.”  

The Starlinger Recostar PET 165 iV+ bottle-to-bottle recycling line at Srichakra’s production facility in Hyderabad, India, began production in 2021. It was the first bottle-to-bottle recycling line Starlinger installed in India, the company says. Srichakra has ordered another two Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling lines to be delivered in 2024.