Britvic announce sustainable packaging milestone

Britvic has announced a long-term agreement with Esterform Packaging for the supply of recycled plastic (rPET), which they claim is “an important milestone,” in the company’s sustainable business programme.

Critical to Britvic’s sustainable packaging strategy is delivering a step-change reduction in the use of virgin PET in its packaging and an increase in the levels of rPET. Under the terms of this new agreement, Esterform, will become Britvic’s preferred supplier of rPET in Great Britain and Ireland and Britvic will be providing £5m of investment support for the construction of new rPET manufacturing facilities at Esterform’s site in Sherburn in Elmet, UK.

Founded in Liverpool in 1999, Esterform is the UK’s largest independent converter of PET and has supplied Britvic for 15 years.

rPET is made from recycled plastics and has significant environmental benefits, including carbon footprint reduction and contributing towards creating an effective circular economy. However, there is a significant industry issue in accessing the quantity and quality of food-grade rPET required to satisfy the demand, with insufficient capacity currently available in the UK.

This deal, therefore, provides Britvic with secure access to UK-sourced rPET and gives Esterform the security to invest in a major capital project that will enhance the UK’s efforts to create a circular economy. Esterform’s new state-of-art manufacturing technology will be powered by 100% renewable energy sources and is expected to be operational by Q4 2020.

Britvic will also help to meet its targets by adding a recycling message to all consumer and trade advertisements.

Trystan Farnworth, group sustainability director, for Britvic said: “Britvic are committed to making a positive difference to the world around us and our partnership with Esterform is another important step forward for our business and our efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of plastic waste. It provides us with a secure supply of rPET at a time when the resource is scarce in the UK, while sourcing it from this country rather than abroad has clear benefits for our carbon footprint.”