Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has introduced a 2 ℓ returnable bottle made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic that offers consumers value for money and is also good for the environment.

The new returnable bottles can be reused up to 14 times, after which they can be recycled and made into new bottles.

In terms of keeping track how many times a bottle has been used, CCBSA tells Engineering News via emailed responses that the company has established that the new bottle can be reused "many times" as long as the bottle is in a usable condition. This forms part of the company's optimisation and approval process simulation testing conducted on the new bottle designs.

As part of the pilot, CCBSA's technical teams are currently evaluating different laser QR coding and reading technologies to track the number of trips that a bottle can achieve. Additionally, to ensure product quality and food safety, CCBSA says that it has automated bottle inspection machines on its production lines that ensure only good quality bottles are used to package the products.

The roll-out is currently being piloted in the Nelson Mandela Bay and Border-Kei districts in the Eastern Cape and, if successful, is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the country.

The returnable bottles are made of PET plastic and are labelled with a new paper label, with ‘Returnable’ appearing in green on the front of the bottle.

“Through innovation and our infrastructure investment in this packaging line, we are providing consumers with greater value for money, while introducing a PET plastic bottle that can be reused,” CCBSA MD Velaphi Ratshefola said on Wednesday.

The recommended retail price for the 2 ℓ Coca-Cola Original Taste – Less Sugar beverage is R15, excluding a R9 deposit. Other CCBSA brands – like Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite and Fanta – are also available in the new 2 ℓ returnable PET plastic bottle at a recommended retail price of R12, excluding the R9 deposit.

According to Ratshefola, the launch of these returnable PET bottles is one way in which CCBSA is “investing in innovative and more sustainable packaging”.

The new returnable 2 ℓ PET plastic bottle also supports the Coca-Cola Company’s global commitments to address the world’s waste problem.

During 2018, more than 98 000 t of post-consumer PET were collected through the PET Recycling Company, which Coca-Cola supports, and diverted from landfills in South Africa, which were given a second life through recycling, saving about 612 000 m² of landfill space.