Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) has launched a program to import community-collected PET from Pacific Island nations into Australia for recycling into food-grade rPET.

Delivered through Circular Plastics Australia PET (CPA), a joint venture between Pact Group, Cleanaway Waste Management, Asahi Beverages and CCEP, the initiative is described by CCEP as an important early step in establishing a regular pathway for Pacific-collected plastic to be recycled into new beverage bottles in Australia.

Pacific Island nations face disproportionately high impacts from plastic pollution due to limited recycling infrastructure, meaning most PET currently can’t be processed in-market.

The first shipment of community-collected PET from Vanuatu – totalling 9.4 tonnes – has arrived in Melbourne for processing at CPA’s PET plastic recycling facility in Altona North.

“CCEP is proud to be spearheading this initiative, because creating true circularity in the Pacific requires solutions that operate across borders,” says Orlando Rodriguez, Managing Director – Australia at CCEP.  

“By moving community collected PET into Australia’s established recycling system, we’re demonstrating that small island nations can fully participate in a modern circular economy, even when local recycling infrastructure is limited.

“It’s a powerful example of what industry collaboration can achieve, and we’re committed to scaling this model so more Pacific communities can benefit.”

Working with local partners, CCEP has supported the development of community collection programs that provide economic incentives, create job pathways and help reduce litter. Through this initiative, PET collected via these systems can be flaked, densified and transported to Australia for recycling into high-quality, food-grade rPET.

Two further shipments, from Fiji and Papua New Guinea, are scheduled to arrive in the coming weeks, as the initiative expands across PNG, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu. The program is anticipated to import up to 2000 tonnes over the next 12 months, with potential to scale up to 6000 tonnes per annum in the coming year.

The recycled PET resin produced at the CPA facilities is used by CCEP and Asahi Beverages to manufacture new beverage bottles, and by Pact Group to make food packaging.