Asahi Beverages has completed the transition of its Australian soft drink portfolio to bottles made with 100 per cent recycled plastic (rPET), covering major brands including Schweppes, Solo and Pepsi.
The move means around 350 million Asahi soft drink bottles produced in Australia each year are now made using recycled plastic instead of virgin PET. The company’s Cool Ridge and Frantelle water bottles and Cottee’s cordial bottles have also transitioned to 100 per cent recycled plastic.
Asahi Beverages Group CEO Amanda Sellers said the change would provide Australian consumers and retailers with greater certainty that plastic bottles used for the company’s beverages are more sustainably sourced.
“Redesigning our supply chains this way helps secure our supply of plastic bottles into the future and makes financial sense,” Sellers said. She added that sustainability is being embedded across the company’s strategy, systems and processes.
The transition has been supported by Australia’s Container Deposit Schemes and Asahi Beverages’ investment in domestic PET recycling infrastructure. The company is part of Circular Plastics Australia (PET), a joint venture with Cleanaway Waste Management, Pact Group and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.
Circular Plastics Australia operates PET recycling plants in Albury, New South Wales, and Altona in Melbourne’s west. The facilities have increased the availability of recycled PET produced in Australia, enabling beverage manufacturers such as Asahi to source more recycled material domestically.
Australia’s Container Deposit Schemes have also played a key role by collecting used beverage containers that are processed into feedstock for the recycling facilities.
The shift towards 100 per cent rPET across Asahi’s Australian soft drink portfolio represents a significant step in increasing the use of recycled material in beverage packaging while reducing reliance on virgin plastic.
