Coca-Cola has invested in Ioniqa Technologies, in the Netherlands, to support the production of high-grade recycled PET from hard-to-recycle PET waste.
The innovative recycling technology developed by the company converts hard-to-recycle PET into purified polymer building blocks, which, in turn, can be transformed into high-quality PET.
The investment will enable the cola giant to achieve its goal of making at least 50% of its packaging materials recyclable by 2030.
'Significant Movement'
"Our investment in new and pioneering recycling technologies is an opportunity for significant movement toward closing the loop and creating a circular economy for PET," said the chief innovation officer of the Coca-Cola Company, Robert Long.
"We plan to continue investing in developing the right partnerships and initiatives – like with Ioniqa – to support our vision of a world without waste," Long added.
Value chain partners validated the technology on a demonstration scale, and the construction of a ten-kMT industrial plant is under way in the Netherlands, the company noted.
The CEO of Ioniqa, Tonnis Hooghoudt, said, "The Ioniqa process allows for significant recovery and reuse of plastic materials that might otherwise not be recycled, while delivering quality food-grade PET.
"The launch of our plant next year will be a step change in the transformation of hard-to-recycle PET plastic into a more widely usable, recycled material, supporting the vision of Coca-Cola," added Hooghoudt.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
