The challenges of today’s waste stream is motivating brand owners to help solve the problem. In late 2018, Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co. extended a loan to Ioniqa Technologies to aid in the development of Ioniqa’s proprietary technology to produce high-grade, recycled PET content from hard-to-recycle PET waste. While in June, Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo Inc. announced that LIFEWTR will be packaged in 100 percent rPET and bubly no longer will be packaged in plastic. The company’s AQUAFINA water brand also will offer aluminum can packaging in U.S. foodservice outlets.
Both these announcements are examples of how beverage-makers are tackling the plastic waste problem through their brand portfolios and packaging equipment suppliers are taking notice.