CCEP is extending Australia’s recycling capability into the Pacific, launching a cross-border PET recovery program that brings community-collected plastic into local processing streams to produce food-grade rPET.
Ahead of COP31, the beverage industry is demonstrating how regional collaboration can strengthen circular packaging systems, with Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Australia launching a program to import community-collected PET from Pacific Island nations for recycling into food-grade rPET.
Developed in partnership with Circular Plastics Australia PET (CPA), the initiative has already seen its first shipment – 9.4 tonnes of PET from Vanuatu – arrive in Melbourne for processing at CPA’s Altona North facility. Further shipments from Fiji and Papua New Guinea are scheduled in the coming weeks, as the program rolls out across PNG, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu.
The program is expected to recover up to 2000 tonnes of PET in its first year, with potential to scale to 6000 tonnes annually, supporting both recycled material supply and local economic outcomes in participating communities.
CCEP says the initiative is designed to create a viable recycling pathway for regions where infrastructure is limited and plastic waste is more likely to enter the environment.
Orlando Rodriguez, managing director – Australia at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, said the program demonstrates how circularity can extend beyond national borders.
“Coca-Cola Europacific Partners is proud to be spearheading this initiative, because creating true circularity in the Pacific requires solutions that operate across borders. 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,” Rodriguez said.
“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 is 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.
Justin Knott, general manager sales and marketing at Circular Plastics Australia (PET), said the initiative builds on existing domestic recycling capability.
“CPA’s plastic recycling facilities were established to process PET beverage bottles collected through Australia’s container deposit schemes and kerbside recycling bins. Incorporating additional material from Pacific Island nations is a natural extension of that capability and means we can recycle more PET into high-quality food grade resin and help underpin a circular economy that benefits the whole region,” Knott said.
The recycled PET resin produced at CPA facilities is used by CCEP and Asahi Beverages to manufacture new beverage bottles, and by Pact Group to make food packaging.
CPA’s facilities in New South Wales and Victoria each have the capacity to recycle the equivalent of one billion PET bottles annually per site, excluding caps and labels. This initiative extends that capability beyond Australia’s borders, positioning the country as a regional hub for circular packaging solutions.
With Australia preparing to co-lead COP31 negotiations, the program highlights how industry collaboration can scale circular economy outcomes across borders while supporting regions with limited recycling infrastructure.
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ broader circularity efforts include Container Deposit Schemes across all Australian states and territories, and CPA facilities in New South Wales and Victoria, each with capacity to recycle the equivalent of one billion PET bottles annually per site, excluding caps and labels.
