Britvic joins consortium to tackle plastic waste

Soft drinks supplier Britvic has joined forces with other global businesses to promote a ground-breaking recycling technology that will help bring about a circular economy for plastics.

The new technology is called BP Infinia and means opaque and difficult to recycle PET plastic waste can be made into new plastic again and again, with no loss in quality. The new cross-industry consortium announced today will work together to make BP Infinia mainstream.

Trystan Farnworth, director of sustainability at Britvic, explained: “To truly reinvent Britvic’s packaging, we must innovate with new low-impact packaging. This consortium is a cornerstone to delivering that pledge.

“A challenge in creating a truly circular economy for PET is the fact that, as it stands, it is not infinitely recyclable. We must solve this to become truly circular – it is not an option.

“That’s why we are excited to announce our active role in the consortium, collaborating to achieve a circularity breakthrough for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”

Britvic will be teaming up with companies operating across the polyester packaging value chain to address the problem of plastic waste head-on and, as part of the consortium, joins forces with packaging and recycling specialist ALPLA; consumer goods producers Danone and Unilever; waste management and recycling specialist Remondis; and energy and petrochemicals producer BP.

Since 2017, Britvic has removed more than 1,500 tonnes of plastic from its supply chain; 100% of its plastic bottles, glass bottles and cans are recyclable; and the company is a founding signatory of the UK Plastics Pact.

Last month Britvic entered into a long-term agreement with Esterform, one of the UK’s leading producers of recycled PET (rPET), investing £5m into the construction of new recycled plastic facilities in the UK. This deal with Esterform secures Britvic’s access to locally sourced rPET long into the future.