Smart move for Smartwater

Coca Cola European Partners completes the two-year roll-out of its attached-cap plastic bottles as the final two sites switch to the new-style bottles

The phased roll-out across CCEP’s five manufacturing sites in GB and sites in Morpeth, Northumberland and Edmonton, have now made the switch which forms part of a £7.5m investment by CCEP.

The move to attach caps on plastic bottles across CCEP’s GB portfolio supports further changes the business has already made to ensure consumers have more opportunities to re-use or recycle packaging.

This includes the acceleration of rPET in 500ml plastic bottles from 50% to 100%, and the roll-out of sustainable cardboard outliers to replace plastic shrink wrap on all multi-pack cans.

“We’re excited to have begun production of Smartwater Glaceau plastic bottles with attached caps,” said Allan French, Morpeth operations director, CCEP.

Morpeth has played a key role in CCEP GB’s sustainability journey as the first GB site to produce bottles in 100% rPET, and it has sent zero waste to landfill in a decade.

French said: “I’m proud of the strides we’re making to step up our sustainability journey. A big thank you to the whole team here at Morpeth, who work hard to make all these changes possible.”

Stephen Moorhouse, VP and general manager at CCEP GB, said: “We became the first major soft drinks producer in Great Britain to introduce the innovative attached caps design on our plastic bottles back in 2022 and we’re pleased to have completed the transition across the portfolio of drinks we manufacture locally at our five sites.”

He continued: “It’s initiatives like these that play a big part in our commitment towards achieving a World Without Waste and in accelerating our This is Forward sustainability strategy.”