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Coca-Cola Europe To Introduce CanCollar Carriers In Spain

by Rudy Sanchez on 08/27/2020 | 1 Minute Read

In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic used in packaging, Coca-Cola European Partners (CCEP) has announced a new partnership with WestRock, a packaging firm based in Coca-Cola’s hometown of Atlanta. CCEP will begin using WestRock’s CanCollar recyclable cardboard multi-pack carrier.

“The agreement with WestRock exemplifies our clear commitment to [reducing] plastic in our secondary packaging,” Joe Franses, vice president of Sustainability for Coca-Cola European Partners, said in a statement. “By the end of 2020, we will have removed more than 4,000 tonnes of hard to recycle plastic from our secondary packaging in Western Europe. It’s through collaborating on innovative packaging solutions like CanCollar that we are able to do this.”

Editorial photograph

The CanCollars uses 95% less plastic than conventional multi-can carriers, and while technically recyclable, this is only true if it gets processed in facilities that can recover poly-coated paperboard products. CCEP will roll out the CanCollars in the Balearic Islands first, which has a strict plastic law going into effect on January 1, 2021. Coca-Cola European Partners invested 2.6 million euros in its Barcelona plant as part of this change to CanCollars.

Late last year, CCEP also announced that it would introduce KeenClip in Europe, a similar plastic-free alternative to conventional multi-pack holders.