Those Who Recycle Properly Are Rewarded
Coca-Cola is taking an innovative way to win consumers over to PET recycling together with Reclay in Austria. A reward system, which runs via a special app, is intended to provide additional impetus. The prototype is currently being tested.
Around 70 percent of plastic waste is currently collected in Austria, and by 2029 the figure is expected to rise to 90 percent throughout Europe. Finally, a high collection rate enables the recycling of PET bottles. The commitment of consumers to participate in this cycle is of course important. With the “Recycle me!” app, Coca-Cola Austria and the Reclay Group want to reward consumers who recycle their PET bottles in the designated collection containers in future.
“We want to get 100 per cent of our packaging back. To achieve this we must motivate consumers to recycle properly,” explains Laszlo Niklos, General Manager at Coca-Cola Austria. “We can only achieve a clean and healthy environment together.
Creating awareness among consumers
Consumers of Coca-Cola in Austria will then be able to check in at a collection container from 2021, scan a code under the cap of their bottles and dispose of the bottle properly. In doing so, they will collect points which they can redeem as credit in the restaurant trade. The prototype of the app is already being tested and will be rolled out at the beginning of next year, as the companies announced in October.
“Austria must increase the collection rate for PET bottles by 20 percent by 2029. The recycling quota must even be doubled by 2025,” emphasizes Christian Abl from Reclay Austria. “These targets cannot be achieved with the existing system. We are therefore in favour of a modern one-way deposit system and are basing our efforts on the experiences of other countries. The development of ecological packaging relies heavily on the advantages of digitalization. “We are delighted to have won Coca-Cola as a partner for this innovative and unique project in Austria,” says Christian Abl, managing director of Reclay Austria.
