Hard-to-recycle shrink wrap to be replaced with 100% recyclable cardboard packaging for multipack cans
Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP), will be replacing plastic shrink wrap with cardboard for its can multipacks across Western Europe, removing approximately 4,000 tonnes of single-use plastic per year across the region.
This is the latest move in Coca-Cola’s commitment to tackle packaging waste and remove all unnecessary single-use plastic from its secondary packaging.
Plastic shrink wrapping is used to keep individual products together while they are being transported and sold to customers as multipacks. It can be harder to recycle than some other plastics and many markets do not have collection schemes in place that allow shrink wrap to be recycled. As a result, much of it currently ends up in landfill or as packaging waste.
The shrink wrap will be replaced with 100% recyclable, sustainably sourced cardboard, with either an FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certification.
As part of the process to shift multipack cans to cardboard packaging, Coca-Cola European Partners has conducted extensive R&D work to identify the appropriate cardboard packaging format for each multipack size. The company’s longer-term goal is to make all the secondary packaging in its supply chain as sustainable as possible, by working with its suppliers on innovative technical solutions.