Coca-Cola Amatil Welcomes Bottle Return Scheme

Coca-Cola Amatil Welcomes Government Bottle Return Scheme Design Announcement

25th September 2019: Coca-Cola Amatil (NZ) has welcomed the Government’s announcement that work has begun to develop a beverage Container Return Scheme (CRS) for New Zealand.

Eugenie Sage, Associate Minister for the Environment, made the announcement this morning at the WasteMINZ Conference in Hamilton saying that she believed CRS would change the way New Zealanders see beverage containers.

Chris Litchfield, Managing Director for Coca-Cola Amatil NZ & Fiji welcomed the announcement.

"We're pro-collection and believe that a collaborative, system approach is a positive step to close the loop on valuable plastics in New Zealand for a circular economy. We support a combined effort from Government, Iwi, industry and community to achieve this and we are fully committed to doing our part to ensure best practice," says Litchfield.

Coca-Cola Amatil supports a well-run, not-for-profit Container Return Scheme in New Zealand and has significant experience running world-class, not-for-profit Container Return Schemes in Australia for more than 40 years.

Amatil also developed the only bottle return scheme in Fiji, called Mission Pacific, and have operated that programme for the past 20 years.

"Container Return Schemes must be carefully designed to ensure collection rates are maximised while the cost of running a scheme is kept as affordable as possible for consumers. This is why a not-for-profit scheme is so important," Litchfield said.

“Coca-Cola Amatil is positioned to utilise its experience and expertise, along with Government, Iwi, industry and community to operate a well-designed, not-for-profit CRS in New Zealand to ensure the best outcome for all.”

Coca-Cola Amatil and Coca-Cola Oceania recently announced a significant increase in recycled plastic to work on closing the loop. By the end of 2019, all their plastic bottles smaller than 1 litre and water bottles across all sizes will be made from entirely recycled plastic in New Zealand.

The initiative is part of Coca-Cola’s international efforts to reduce its impact on the environment and encourage sustainable practices across all countries where it operates. The Coca-Cola Company has a global goal of reducing waste and collecting and recycling as many cans and bottles as it sells each year by 2030.

Coca-Cola Oceania and Coca-Cola Amatil NZ support a number of grassroots initiatives to help collect and recycle beverage containers including Sea Cleaners, The Public Place Recycling Scheme and the Band Together anti-litter campaign.

To learn more about this announcement and Coca-Cola’s sustainable packaging goals and initiatives, visit coca-colajourney.co.nz/sustainability.

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