Coca

The Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 iV+ PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line installed at Srichakra Polyplast (India).

In a first for the country, Coca-Cola India recently launched a new 1-litre bottle made from 100% recycled PET for its packaged drinking water brand Kinley.

The use of recycled material in food contact applications had previously been banned in India under the prevailing plastic waste regulations in the country. Since then, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has reversed its standpoint: following a thorough review of the material in the light of food safety considerations and compliance with the guidelines, it became in 2022 for recycled plastics to be used for ‘packaging, storing, carrying or dispensing of food products.’ Coca-Cola has now become the first in the country to introduce a bottle made from 100% rPET.

The rPET for the new bottle packaging was produced by Srichakra Polyplast (India) Pvt Ltd on a PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line from Austria-based Starlinger.

“With Starlinger’s PET recycling process, which has received positive opinions from EFSA and approvals from FSSAI, we ensure thorough decontamination of the PET in the recycling process and produce food-safe rPET pellets for PET bottle preform production and other types of food packaging,” said Ravindra PV, managing director at Srichakra Polyplast.

The Starlinger recoSTAR PET 165 iV+ PET bottle-to-bottle recycling line at Srichakra’s production facility in Hyderabad, Telangana State was the first bottle-to-bottle recycling line Starlinger installed in India. Its technology carries the approval of the FSSAI and positive scientific opinions from EFSA. The rPET pellets produced by the line are suitable for food and beverage packaging, including bottles, food trays, etc.

Srichakra, an end-to-end recycling and plastic waste management company operating in Hyderabad, India, has already ordered another two Starlinger PET bottle-to-bottle recycling lines which will be delivered beginning of 2024.

Enrique Ackermann, vice president of Technical and Innovation for Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, said in a statement that ‘Aligned with our vision of creating a World Without Waste, we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our environmental footprint and contribute towards creating a circular economy.’

“Our new bottles made with food-grade rPET have value beyond their initial use, as they are fully recyclable and can be repurposed into new bottles. This is also an endeavour on our part to complement the Government of India’s ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ - Clean India Mission - initiative.”

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