Soft drinks manufacturer, Coca-Cola, has announced that it will join nearly 150 other companies in adopting the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC’s) On-Pack Recycling Label (OPRL) for its plastic bottles.

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE), the bottler of Coca-Cola products in Great Britain, has begun printing the ‘plastic – widely recycled’ OPRL on 500ml bottles of Coca-Cola, Coke Zero and Diet Coke, expanding the label to other products and packs made by CCE in the ‘near future’.

Patrick McGuirk, Coca-Cola Enterprises' Recycling Director, said: "Our bottles and cans are easily recycled and our research shows consumers will recycle more if they know what can be recycled. We have had a recycling logo on our packs for many years but the inclusion of OPRL information makes it easier for consumers to recycle their bottles through kerbside collection schemes. Our message is simple – recycle your bottle at home and it can be back on the shelf within six weeks."

Over 90 per cent of councils collect plastic bottles at the kerbside, but only half of plastic bottles are currently recycled. It is hoped that with Coca-Cola, the country’s biggest soft drink manufacturer, producing bottles with the OPRL, recycling rates will increase.

British Retail Consortium Director of Food and Sustainability Andrew Opie, explains: "The On-Pack Recycling Label has become a familiar sight to consumers in the three years since it was introduced. It's great to welcome Coca-Cola Enterprises to the list of nearly 150 signatories, particularly because of what we hope this will mean for plastic bottle recycling.

“Just five out of every 10 plastic bottles sold in the UK is recycled and we would like to see much more. Coca-Cola's adoption of our recycling logo means thousands more people will be reminded every day how easy it is to stop plastic bottles ending up in landfill."

Marcus Gover, Director of the Closed Loop Economy at WRAP, which monitors the correct use of the label, welcomed the news, saying: "It's great that the UK is recycling 50 per cent of plastic bottles – and WRAP's recent guidance on this will help local authorities improve collections further. But we're still throwing away one in two bottles, so WRAP welcomes initiatives like this that encourage people to recycle more – this is a very positive step."

Further details about the On-Pack Recycling Label can be found on the BRC’s website.