Ribena to use 100% recycled bottles
December 11, 2007 at 3:46 pm
It may not always be great for our teeth but now our favourite blackcurrant friend Ribena is taking notice of recycled packaging. Ribena, who are owned by the drug company GlaxoSmithKline, announced that they are putting plans into operation for all of their plastic bottles to be made from recycled plastics and remain 100% recyclable afterwards. The ready-to-drink bottles are now ready-to-recycle as of October this year, and Ribena are to roll out the same for their squash concentrate bottles too.
Ribena are by no means the worst in this field, with 40% of their bottles being made from recycled materials and a plastic called Polyethylene Terephthalate. Why raise the bar? It’s a costly venture but one Ribena feel is well worth it. Managing Director of Ribena, Anne MacCraig, says:
“This hasn’t been without its challenges but it is a major step forward for sustainable packaging. With nine out of ten consumers saying they think it would be good if packaging contained recycled plastic, we’re confident that they will welcome the move to 100 percent recycled plastic.”
Another drinks manufacturer, Innocent, were the first company ever to produce and sell a packaged product that is 100% recycled PET, meaning that every single material has come from a previous recycling process. Innocent signed up to an agreement called the Carbon Trust, which is another scheme to keep companies’ carbon footprint in check. Innocent expect to also see a 55% reduction in their own footprint through the use of these recycled techniques.
The co-founder of think-tank and consultancy agency SustainAbility, Julia Hailes MBE, commented by saying:
“I’m delighted that the makers of Ribena are leading the way in moving to 100 percent recycled plastic in their bottles. This is really significant in terms of saving energy and reducing waste. I hope other food and drink producers will follow suit.”
Leave a Reply