Coca‑Cola Hungary is reducing the weight of its aluminum cans by 13% and its PET bottles by 4%

2020-02-14 1:19 min Materials, Processing & Handling, PET materials

Coca-Cola HBC Dunaharaszti, Hungary

Coca‑Cola Hungary has reduced the weight of its aluminum cans by 13%. The canned beverages manufactured in Hungary and marketed in 19 countries will see a reduction in aluminum use amounting to 170 tons a year, effective 2020, greatly reducing the environmental strain of production and delivery, thus, the overall ecological footprint of the company. The company has also made headway last year in replacing the shrink-wrap used in its pallets, leading to a reduction of 43 tons in packaging materials this year.

Environmentally-friendly packaging - smaller ecological footprint

The lighter aluminum cans and the less shrink-wrap will mean an annual 210-ton reduction in the weight of deliveries. Since the packages are lighter, their shipping requires less in resources and energy. The weight reduction achieved as an outcome of technological advances is in line with the company’s sustainability commitments to continually reduce its environmental impact.

The company has made several innovations in the packaging of its soft drinks, always looking to find a more environmentally-friendly solution. The process continues. Maintaining focus on environmental aspects, the company will replace the packaging of its four and six-pack offer to an innovative cardboard-based alternative of the currently used plastic solution in Hungary starting 2021.

(Photo credit: Coca-Cola HBC)

Aiming for a World Without Waste

One of the main aims of Coca-Cola’s global World Without Waste strategy is to recycle as many plastic bottles and aluminum cans as it sells.

Coca-Cola’s PET bottles sold in Hungary are already made from materials that can be 100% recycled and the aim is to introduce PET bottles made from 100% recycled materials. As a result of developments, the rate of recycled PET bottles is constantly growing. Currently, they account for an average of 24%, which will increase to 50% by 2030. Plastic used in Hungarian packaging was reduced by 15% in recent years, and the HUF 100 million in technical development this year will reduce the amount of plastics used for bottling soft drinks by 4%. This step alone means that the company will reduce its plastic use by an annual 600 tons, which amounts to the weight of 24 million PET bottles. PET bottles add up 3% of the overall packaging waste in Hungary.

hu.coca-colahellenic.com

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Coca‑Cola Hungary is reducing the weight of its aluminum cans by 13% and its PET bottles by 4%

Environmentally-friendly packaging - smaller ecological footprint

Aiming for a World Without Waste

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