After 61 years, Sprite is switching from its famous green bottles to transparent ones.

You may have noticed a new Sprite bottle at the store: No it is not a Sprite’s new flavor, The iconic green bottle has been replaced by a transparent one. In addition to the new clear bottles, Sprite is also introducing a new visual identity including a fresh logo and packaging design.

Why the change ?

IN 2018, Coca-Cola announced their plans to "collect and recycle the equivalent of a bottle or can for every one the company sells globally by 2030, and to make 100% of its packaging recyclable by 2025."

The change is part of Coca-Cola's efforts to achieve “World Without Waste”, a global initiative that aims to increase the availability of high-quality, food-grade recycled PET material needed to meet the growing demand for containers made from recycled materials.

According to Coca-Cola's website "Our sustainable packaging strategy aims to create systemic change through a circular economy for our packaging - from how bottles and cans are designed and manufactured to how they’re recycled and reused." All these initiatives the company is taking are in favor of a better future and a better environment.

How is this helping the environment ?

Firstly,

Green bottles can be recycled into textiles, but not bottle to bottle recycling as it is not usually safe for food grade recycling. On the other hand, clear and light blue bottles are typically used to produce recycled PET. Sprite bottles were not getting recycled regularly because of their color. This change will boost recycling rates and enable a circular economy.

Secondly,

Separation is one of recycling's biggest challenges as it is a complex process. Unifying the colors of packaging will make the process way easier for the recyclers. Less effort and time will be set for separation and more for recycling. At the rates and quantities Sprite is produced by Coca-Cola Significant results will arise. The recycling rates will increase in the future and so will the circular economy.

Coca-Cola said: "Sprite is transitioning from green to clear plastic to increase the material's likelihood of being remade into new beverage bottles."

Julian Ochoa, chief executive of R3CYCLE, said: “Taking colors out of bottles improves the quality of the recycled material. When recycled, clear PET Sprite bottles can be remade into bottles, helping drive a circular economy for plastic.” R3CYCLE is partnering with Coca-Cola to help achieve their goals of bottle-to-bottle recycling,

The Egyptian market

These changes have already begun to appear around Egypt’s kiosks, supermarkets and hypermarkets, as Coca-Cola Egypt started Following the global initiative with the help of Delta El-Nile, One of the biggest PET preform suppliers in the country. These initiatives are great, but results will not show yet as it takes time to reap the fruits of today’s actions.

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