Coca-Cola HBC launches Romanian rPET production facility with €11M investment

24 Oct 2023 --- Coca-Cola HBC has opened a new in-house recycled plastic (rPET) production facility in Romania, following an €11 million (US$11.72 million) investment, including €3.5 million (US$3.73 million) in state aid. 

The move makes Romania the first market within the group to combine its “three key pillars of circularity”: the use of 100% recycled bottles across the portfolio, an in-house rPET production facility, and a soon-to-be-launched deposit return scheme. 

Coca-Cola HBC Romania will also be the first beverage producer in the Romanian market to produce rPET in-house and is the third rPET decontamination facility in operation across Coca-Cola HBC’s markets. 

In 2022, 22% of the PET plastic used across Coca-Cola HBC’s EU and Swiss markets was from recycled material. 

Transitioning to rPET 
With the investment in Romania and transitions to recycled bottle portfolios in Coca-Cola HBC markets of Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland and Northern Ireland, the company says it is on track to deliver almost 50% rPET use in EU and Swiss markets by the end of 2023. 

This achievement is a year ahead of the 2025 deadline set by the company as part of the UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe circular packaging vision for EU markets.

The company also supports the introduction of Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) in many of its markets — schemes that typically achieve a 90% collection rate for bottles and cans. 

Five DRS are active across Coca-Cola HBC markets, with six more coming on stream by the end of 2025. Romania’s scheme is set to be introduced this December.

“At Coca-Cola HBC, our purpose is to ‘Open Up Moments that Refresh us All,’ and this means that, beyond the functional refreshment that we provide, we strive to refresh our communities and the environment through the work that we do,” says Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO, Coca-Cola HBC. 

“We are working to produce and deliver our drinks in more sustainable ways and in packaging that has a life beyond its initial use – and Romania is a great example of how we can work collaboratively with our stakeholders and the wider industry to create a circular economy for packaging.”

Edited by Louis Gore-Langton