Sprite's green bottles go clear in Australia, for easier recycling

Coca-Cola Australia is switching its Sprite green plastic bottles to clear plastic, making them easier to recycle into new bottles locally.

Kate Miller, Marketing Director at Coca-Cola Australia, said: “At Coca-Cola, we want our bottles to have more than one life. All our Sprite bottles under 1 litre are already made from 100% recycled PET plastic (excluding caps and labels). This initiative helps to support recycling systems and gives our bottles the best chance of being recycled and processed into new bottles locally. While Australians have known and loved Sprite in its iconic green bottle for nearly 60 years, we know this is the right thing to do, as we support the transition to circularity for our packaging.”

Planet Ark Environmental Foundation, Australia’s leading environmental behaviour change organisation, welcomed the announcement and its potential impact on plastics recycling in Australia.

Planet Ark CEO Rebecca Gilling said: “We all have a role to play in driving our transition to a circular economy in Australia and this is a significant move by Coca-Cola Australia. It’s critical that companies like Coca-Cola continue to invest in making sure their products have the best chance of being recycled. If bottles are collected and recycled and then turned into new bottles locally, this ultimately means less demand for new plastic, as well as reduced carbon emissions.”

Gilling added that container deposit schemes, which are now available or planned to launch in every Australian state and territory, provide an excellent means of ensuring clean recycling streams.

The change in Australia will affect all pack sizes of Sprite Classic bottles in PET plastic packaging and is expected to be complete by August 2023 as retailers sell through existing stock.