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Danielle Popov

Swire Coca-Cola, the bottling partner of the American drinks maker, has become the first company in Hong Kong to use locally sourced recycled plastic for its products, giving a boost to the city’s circular economy efforts.
New Life Plastics, the city’s first food-grade ready plastic bottle recycling facility, has started supplying Swire Coca-Cola with locally sourced recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) needed to bottle its drinks. Until now, the drinks company sourced rPET from overseas. Coca-Cola launched its namesake fizzy drink in recycled plastic bottles in April last year.
Swire Coca-Cola invested in New Life Plastics in December 2022. The company opened its PET recycling facility the same year in EcoPark in Tuen Mun in the New Territories.
“Since New Life Plastic started recycling locally collected plastic bottles into food grade rPET, we have been buying rPET and turning it into preforms,” said Richard Gould, general manager for Swire Coca-Cola in Hong Kong, at a launch event on Tuesday, referring to the test-tube-shaped, intermediate product that is blown into its final bottle shape.

As of this month, Coca-Cola started using only locally sourced rPET for all its 500ml and 1.5-litre PET bottles in Hong Kong, said Iris Lee, Coca-Cola’s general manager for Hong Kong and Macau.
The government has been encouraging recycling efforts for a greener Hong Kong to reduce the amount of plastic that goes into landfill.
“These initiatives not only demonstrate corporate responsibility but also set a strong benchmark for the drinks industry in Hong Kong,” said Samuel Chui Ho-kwong, director of environmental protection at the Environmental Protection Department, at the same event.
Some 130 tonnes of plastic drink bottles were discarded a day in Hong Kong, most of which were made from “highly recyclable materials which can be given a second life, provided that proper collection and processing is in place”, Chui said.
Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, in his policy address last month, said the government was focused on improving waste reduction and recycling through legislation like producer responsibility schemes. This involves stakeholders like manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers sharing the responsibility for the collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of products at the end of their life cycle.
Alfred Weston, general manager of New Life Plastics, said the company has been trying to support recycling efforts through various channels. It gets used PET bottles from reverse vending machines that provide rebates for empty bottles, Green@Community recycling centres and the three-colour bins across the city.
Reverse vending machines collect used plastic beverage containers from the public and provide an instant rebate via e-payment to encourage recycling.
While New Life Plastics has a capacity to process up to 2 million PET bottles a day, it currently processes fewer than 800,000, highlighting the need for increased community collection efforts.
A recent survey conducted by Coca-Cola in Hong Kong showed that 67 per cent of respondents were “already trying to recycle as much as possible”. However, nearly 80 per cent said they saw many challenges, including “insufficient or inconvenient recycling infrastructure”.
The survey, which involved 1,125 consumers, also showed that 63 per cent were already prioritising environmentally friendly packaging, while more than 80 per cent said manufacturers’ sustainability efforts increased their intent to buy.
Gould said that one option to close the gap between insufficient recycling infrastructure was to extend the producer responsibility schemes, which incentivise companies to step up their efforts to promote recycling. “Next year, the [government] is expected to pass legislation on plastic bottles and drink cartons,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government plans to step up its efforts to curb waste and enhance recycling.
This would be taken forward through strengthening public education, enhancing the recycling network, strengthening collaboration with industries and utilising market forces to develop environmental infrastructure, Chui said.


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Bottling partner Swire Coca-Cola starts using locally sourced recycled PET from Hong Kong supplier New Life Plastics


Bottling partner Swire Coca-Cola starts using locally sourced recycled PET from Hong Kong supplier New Life Plastics.


Coca-Cola goes green in Hong Kong with locally recycled PET bottles

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Bottling partner Swire Coca-Cola starts using locally sourced recycled PET from Hong Kong supplier New Life Plastics

Bottling partner Swire Coca-Cola starts using locally sourced recycled PET from Hong Kong supplier New Life Plastics