Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has announced an investment in recycling start-up CuRe Technology, which uses a process called ‘polyester rejuvenation’ to develop rPET from hard-to-recycle plastic polyester waste.
The group made the investment through its CCEP Ventures vehicle, as it seeks to 'accelerate its ambition to eliminate virgin oil-based plastic from its bottles', the company said in a statement.
'Reducing The Environmental Impact'
“We are committed to reducing the environmental impact of our packaging, and eliminating the use of oil-based virgin plastic in our bottles by the end of the decade," Joe Franses, VP Sustainability at CCEP.
“Packaging challenges need big ideas to tackle them, and through CCEP Ventures we can accelerate innovative solutions to help us meet our ambitions. CuRe’s technology will give us access to recycled plastic that will accelerate our transition to a circular economy for our packaging.”
According to the company, CuRe Technology’s recycling process creates rPET with a carbon footprint that is approximately 65% lower than virgin PET, and can be re-processed as many times as necessary.
CCEP intends to commence using CuRe Technology’s rPET in Europe from 2025, following the development of a new production facility.
The drinks bottler previously made an investment in CuRe Technology in 2020, investing funding in the startup's R&D roadmap and pilot plant.
Read More: Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Reports 'Encouraging' Start To Year
'Strengthen Our Relationship'
“We are excited to further strengthen our relationship with CCEP, helping drive progress on their goal to create more sustainable packaging," said Josse Kunst, chief commercial officer at CuRe Technology.
“CCEP’s renewed commitment will help us complete the engineering for our first commercial plant faster, scaling cutting-edge technology and making it possible to revitalise previously difficult to recycle plastics.”
© 2023 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest packaging news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
