Eliminating packaging waste is fundamental to carving out a more eco-friendly future for our world. One approach that tackles this issue head-on is promoting the circular economy, a concept focused on diminishing packaging waste as much as possible.
In recent years, Coca-Cola Ireland and its island bottling accomplice, the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, have been putting numerous measures into effect to eradicate plastic waste and to ensure the reusability of their cans and bottles. Agnese Filippi, the country manager of Coca-Cola explains the considerable impact of their global course of action to revamp the company’s entire packaging lifecycle through their ambitious World Without Waste Strategy. The goal is simple: by 2030, they aim to retrieve one bottle or can for reprocessing or recycling for every one they sell.
In a significant achievement last year, the enterprise successfully transitioned to 100% recycled plastic bottles across its range of soft drinks in both Ireland and Northern Ireland. Apart from this, changes in compliance with EU legislation have led to the introduction of affixed bottle caps, a move completed by Coca-Cola earlier this year. This alteration facilitates the recycling process and ensures more bottles are collected with caps intact, thereby reducing litter.
Efforts to boost the collection of plastic packaging take place at a broader level, with the Coca-Cola Foundation collaborating with a range of Irish organisations. In partnership with environmental non-profit Hubbub and local councils such as Dublin City Council and Belfast City Council, they’ve broadened the #CircleCity programme. This aims to cultivate a stronger recycling culture in urban centres across Ireland.
Despite these initiatives, it’s vital that all players – from industry to government and beyond – collectively work on achieving a circular economy for packaging. It’s for this reason that Coca-Cola Ireland and the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) have released a jointly-authored white paper containing proposals for promoting this circular economy model.
The white paper comes after a recent Real Talk roundtable session hosted by the IIEA and Coca-Cola. The session gathered policymakers, industry insiders, and members of public to discuss realistic ways of operationalising a circular economy for packaging throughout Ireland.
Coca-Cola has been hosting Real Talk forums in Europe, including the recent event in Ireland, focusing on sustainability for packaging circularity. A white paper, “Closing the Loop: Advancing the Circular Economy for Packaging”, recommended the appointment of a dedicated senior minister to take responsibility for the sector and maximise potential opportunities.
A sectoral approach for policy in the circular economy was also proposed. This would involve developing separate strategies for each sector centred on plastic packaging waste streams. This could then work to eliminate inconsistencies within various industries and promote circularity.
An island-wide approach to the circular economy is essential according to the paper. This would enable recycling and reprocessing of products without needing to export them and thus benefiting national capacities.
IIEA Director General, Alex White, commented on the recommendations, emphasising the necessity for every sector – business, government, non-profit, and individuals – to understand their roles and contribute to realising Irish circular economy ambitions.
Collaboration among different sectors is significant to ensure the continuous recycling and reuse of packaging. The white paper suggests increased data sharing among enterprises in the food and beverage sector. This could aide smaller businesses lacking the resources to develop sustainable packaging.
Furthermore, encouraging a shift towards re-usable and refillable packaging can maintain the value of materials and facilitate a long-term closure of the packaging loop.
Moving forward, Fillipi is eager for the white paper’s actionable advice to resonate throughout society, stating that the white paper provides key insights to help the food and drink industry in Ireland reduce packaging waste. He believes that collective action can lead us to a time where packaging waste will become a thing of the past.
To access the complete report, see the link here.