Coca Cola Trials PET Bottles Designed for Recyclability in United Kingdom

Coca‑Cola will temporarily remove labels from Sprite and Sprite Zero on-the-go bottles in a limited trial of “label-less” packaging.

The pilot will see labels temporarily removed from single 500-ml Sprite and Sprite Zero bottles, and replaced with an embossed logo on the front of the pack. Laser-engraved product and nutritional information will appear on the back of the package.

Removing the film labels simplifies the recycling process, removing the need to separate them from the bottles, and reduces the amount of packaging material used overall. The new design will be sold at eight Tesco Express Stores in Brighton and Hove, Bristol, London and Manchester between January and March 2024.

The clear, recycled polyethylene teraphthalate (rPET) bottles feature green and transparent attached caps identifying them as Sprite or Sprite Zero respectively. The bottles are made from recycled PET material, excluding the cap, which is made from HDPE.

Coca Cola has also introduced attached caps to its bottles, ensuring the cap stays connected to the bottle after opening to reduce the potential for littering. It has also invested in new designs to reduce the amount of packaging it uses, such as creating lightweight bottles and reducing the materials used in external packaging.

“The trial we are announcing today is a milestone for the industry. It’s the first time these two technologies have been used in a pilot globally, where a Coca‑Cola product will appear in a label-less, single-unit bottle sold in-store. Although the design change may sound simple, this is a big shift from a marketing perspective. This trial could contribute to longer term changes to the way brands communicate with their consumers,” says Javier Meza, Coca Cola Europe VP of marketing.