Britvic announces shift to 100% recycled PET bottles

Today, Britvic announced its intent for all its plastic bottles in Great Britain to be made from 100% recycled PET (rPET) by the end of 2022 – three years earlier than originally planned, and ahead of its previous target of 50%.

This is the latest in a series of sustainability-focused business measures, including Britvic’s recent move in Ireland to rPET for Ballygowan 500ml bottles and Fruit Shoot Hydro switching to 100% rPET in September.

As a founding signatory of The UK Plastics Pact, the business says that it has already removed more than 1,500 tonnes of primary plastic from its supply chain since 2017 – and that all its primary packaging is already fully recyclable.

In 2019, the company entered into a long-term agreement with Esterform Packaging Limited, the UK’s largest convertor of PET, for the supply of recycled plastic. Alongside this agreement, Britvic provided a £5m investment support package for the construction of new state-of-the-art rPET manufacturing facilities, to be powered by 100% renewable energy sources, at their site in North Yorkshire.

Also in 2019, Britvic joined a cross-industry consortium to promote a recycling technology called BP Infinia that allows opaque and difficult-to-recycle PET plastic waste to be repeatedly made into new plastic.

Paul Graham, managing director of Britvic GB, said: “This is a significant moment for Britvic and our partnership with PepsiCo, demonstrating our commitment to protecting the planet for us and future generations. Our intent to move to 100% recycled plastic, along with our investment support package in the Esterform Packaging Limited announced last year, will help create a truly sustainable circular economy for plastic.”

Sarah Webster, director of sustainable business at Britvic, added: “Sustainability and our ‘Healthier People, Healthier Planet’ agenda sits at the heart of our business strategy. We want to be a net positive contributor to the people and the world around us, and we’re committed to minimising waste and using resources in a sustainable way across our business. Accelerating this move to 100% rPET is the right next step for Britvic to help reduce our impact on the planet.