To reduce plastic use, Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong to produce more cans and glass bottles under HK$150 million plan
- Distributor will also roll out 300 water dispensers across the city allowing users to refill their own bottles
- Green groups approve of some measures but say company needs to go further with its environmental initiatives
In a shift away from plastic containers, Coca-Cola’s Hong Kong distributor will produce more drinks in cans and glass bottles, and roll out hundreds of water dispensers across the city as part of its waste reduction and recycling measures.
Swire Coca-Cola Hong Kong will invest more than HK$150 million (US$19.2 million) in new production equipment and technologies over the next five years to support the growth of refillable and reusable drink packaging, said Neil Waters, the company’s director.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Waters said the company would increase the sales of drinks in aluminium cans by more than 10 per cent over the next five years, with 80 per cent of the cans being recyclable.
Glass bottle business would be increased by more than 150 per cent over the same period, and more than 90 per cent of the glass bottles produced would be refilled and reused, he said.
“Now 15 to 16 per cent of our business is refillable and reusable,” he said. “Over the next five years, our refillable and reusable packaging mix will reach almost 20 per cent of our total volume.”