Ribena and Lucozade parent group Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I has announced that all of its on-the-go 500ml bottles (excluding the cap and label) will be made from 100% recycled polyethylene tetraphyte (rPET) plastic by the end of the year.

This includes Lucozade Sport, Lucozade Energy, Orangina and Ribena.

There are strict food and beverage legislation in place requiring proving that 95% of the recycled plastic came from food and drink.

Suntory said it as a challenge to secure supply of food grade quality rPET – only the highest quality plastic can be used to remake food and drink packaging, but it is estimated that the UK currently only produces around 1.3 million tonnes of food-grade rPET every year.

The company estimated that for all soft drinks companies in Europe to produce bottles from 100% rPET, this would need to increase by an estimated 3.56 million tonnes.

It is also a considerable investment from the business as the demand for this material is pushing up costs – the European price of rPET currently 39% more expensive compared to virgin PET.

Lucozade Sport, Orangina and Ribena are already 100% rPET, but further supply is needed to meet this for Lucozade Energy.

To address industry shortages in the short term and ensure Suntory meets the current requirement of 30% rPET in its Lucozade Energy bottles, the company has invested in a 9,000 tonne PET resin which contains 30% recycled material content processed by chemical recycling technology.

“Suntory was going against the grain because it’s commercially more of an investment [to use rPET],” explained Liz Nieboer, head of sustainability at Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I. “But I think the tide has turned now and everyone is kind of invested in ensuring circularity of its packaging. So all of the big players in the industry are now making commitments.”

An alternative to mechanical methods, chemical recycling breaks down any PET plastic to its core elements allowing it to be reformed into new food-grade rPET, as though it was a virgin material once again.

It is suited to bottle to bottle recycling of PET when colour and purity needs to be improved compared to mechanical methods.

Suntory added that an industry-wide lack of food-grade quality rPET across Europe will slow other organisations from making similar commitments, and that it is engaging with government, industry and other partners to deliver a circular economy for plastics.

“Our shift to 100% rPET for our 500ml ready-to-drink bottles is a huge achievement, and an important step in our commitment to achieving 100% sustainable packaging by 2030. It’s the result of years of hard-work and whilst reaching this milestone is a cause for celebration, much still needs to be done in terms of recycling infrastructure. There has been a historic under investment in the UK’s recycling and collection infrastructures, meaning less than a third of bottles are turned back into bottles,” said Nieboer.

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