Coca-Cola Unveils Bold Returnable Bottle Expansion in Bid to Tackle Plastic Waste
Coca-Cola is scaling up its global strategy to curb plastic waste by expanding the use of returnable glass and plastic bottles—a move aimed at significantly reducing single-use packaging across key markets. The initiative comes amid growing pressure on beverage companies to reduce their environmental footprint and deliver on sustainability pledges.
The beverage giant is prioritizing returnable packaging in more than 20 markets, targeting regions with high consumption and waste generation. By the end of 2022, refillable bottles accounted for 14% of Coca-Cola’s global sales—a figure the company is working to elevate as part of its broader environmental goals.
A cornerstone of the updated strategy is infrastructure investment. Coca-Cola and its bottling partners are investing in bottling technology and collection systems, particularly in Latin America and parts of Asia and Africa, where returnable systems are more culturally ingrained and logistically viable.
Refillable containers, typically glass or durable plastic bottles, are collected, sanitized, and reused multiple times before being recycled. Coca-Cola estimates that in certain markets, such as Mexico and Germany, returnables can be reused up to 25 to 50 times, dramatically lowering packaging waste and carbon emissions compared to single-use alternatives.
This expansion aligns with Coca-Cola’s goal to make 25% of all beverages globally sold in returnable or refillable containers by 2030. The World Without Waste initiative, launched in 2018, also commits Coca-Cola to collect and recycle one bottle or can for each one sold by 2030, and to use at least 50% recycled content in all packaging.
FMCG industry stakeholders are closely watching Coca-Cola’s approach as a potential model for scalable packaging innovation. The returnable system’s effectiveness depends not only on infrastructure and consumer participation but also on regional supply chain efficiencies and cost management.
As regulatory pressure mounts and consumer demand tilts toward environmentally responsible products, returnable packaging formats could become a competitive differentiator. For FMCG brands navigating sustainability mandates, Coca-Cola’s move signals a shift toward circular packaging systems as a viable, large-scale solution.