JOHANNESBURG – Coca-Cola has pledged $38 million or more than R500 million over three years to stimulate recycling industries across southern and eastern Africa.
The move is part of the company's contribution towards taking care of the environment, director of communications and sustainability at Coca-Cola Southern and East Africa Maserame Mouyeme said.
"People matter and our planet matters too. This system investment will in turn create more than 19 000 income opportunities, many of them for women," Mouyeme said.
"We acknowledge the harm that packaging, in particular plastic, can do to our environment. So as part of our 'World Without Waste' strategy by 2030 for every bottle or can that we sell globally, we will take one back so that it has more than one life."
The beverage company also announced the launch of a new 500ml Bonaqua polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle that will be made entirely out of previously used plastic, and will be available from Mcarch 2019.
As part of its World Without Waste global vision, Coca-Cola plans to make all primary packaging 100 percent recyclable and create packaging that is made from at least 50 percent recycled material by 2030.
"We're rethinking our packaging as we set out to meet the ambitious collection targets we have set," Mouyeme said.