Together for good - Coca-Cola system in Poland & Baltics rolls out caps attached to bottles

The move is in anticipation of the requirements of the European regulation on single-use plastics, to complete the roll-out by 2024.

The Coca-Cola system in Poland & Baltics has begun to introduce new caps attached to plastic drinks bottles as part of its implementation of the requirements of the European regulation on single-use plastics, to be prepared across Europe when it enters into force in July 2024.

The aim of the initiative is for the cap to be recycled together with the bottle, thereby helping to collect more caps and reduce plastic litter, in line with a World Without Waste, Coca-Cola's global ambition and strategy on packaging.

Starting in 2021, Coca-Cola system took a phased, step-by-step approach to transitioning production lines and introducing plastic bottles with attached closures across Europe, working with its European bottlers, including Coca-Cola HBC. The bottlers have begun to carry out pilots and test the first implementations in 2021, and will roll out this innovation market by market, ahead of the 2024 deadline.

A sustainability innovation

The opening system on the new cap solution is the same as that of a standard bottle. However, the innovation lies in the ring that surrounds the neck of the bottle, to which a tab has been incorporated that keeps the cap attached to the package once unscrewed, while still allowing an airtight closure.

Although at first glance, this may seem like a simple innovation, it involves a remarkable degree of technical complexity. The design of the new cap solution is the result of enormous effort, time, and investment from our R&D teams across Coca-Cola in Europe. Working together with design and supplier partners, a packaging solution has been developed that offers consumers a comfortable and pleasant experience, is easy and practical to use, and guarantees the safety and quality of Coca-Cola beverages, all while reducing the environmental impact of the packaging.

Following extensive consumer testing, the new closure was a preferred choice in terms of design, comfort, and convenience.

Facilitating collection, recycling and promoting the circular economy

Coca-Cola shares the goal of reducing packaging waste to zero with the EU. As part of its ambition to achieve a “World without Waste," it has set out to collect one bottle or can for everyone it sells by 2030. In addition, it seeks to reduce the use of virgin raw material in the manufacturing of packaging, increase use of recycled material and invest in innovation to make its packaging more sustainable. Right now all packaging from Coca-Cola HBC Poland & Baltics plants is 100% recyclable.

Coca-Cola is aware that achieving a "World without Waste" requires collaboration and partnership - with industry, recyclers, policymakers, other stakeholders and consumers. The new caps have a clear message with the aim of making it easier for people to recycle, and for more bottles to be collected with their caps attached.

The ultimate goal is to establish a circular economy for packaging, in which each bottle - and each cap - is collected, recycled and reused to become another product, reducing the package’s carbon footprint and ensuring that no packaging ends up as litter in the environment.