Sustainable packaging and recycling

We reduce the impact of our packaging on the environment by following our own 3R principle:

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 

Therefore, we strive to reduce the impact of packaging in each lifecycle phase – development, recycling and disposal, simultaneously improving its basic function – securing product quality in the supply chain to the end user. The goal we pursue is the closing of the recycling circle, that is, turning the used packaging into new.

MORE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING 

We continuously work on developing packaging with less weight, that reduces the quantity of waste, and on increasing the content of recycled and renewable material in the composition of new packaging. 

Compared to 2014, 2l PET bottle is 4% lighter (from 45.7 to 43.7 grams), 0.5l PET bottle by 9% (from 22.4 to 20.7 grams). At the start of 2020, we introduced Next Biobased Tetra Pack packaging, containing 82% of plant material. Every time a consumer chooses our Joy, FuzeTea, and neXt lemonades, they are selecting packaging made from recycled plastic. Currently, about 8 percent of our total packaging on the market is made from recycled plastic.

Through projects focusing on lightening the packaging in 2022, in the bottling plant in Belgrade, the weight of the 1.25l bottle was reduced from 37 grams to 32 grams, and in Vlasinka plant, the weight of the 6l bottle was reduced from 90 grams to 83.5 grams. 

We introduce a significant innovation in 2022 – caps fixed on the bottle after opening, enabling collecting of the caps and the bottle together, and sending them to recycling. This innovation is aligned with the Directive of the European Union regulating that from 2024 all packages will have to include fixed caps or caps that cannot be separated.

Another great innovation related to packaging, for the purpose of reducing plastic use, has been introduced on grouped cans. Plastic foil that was previously used, “holding” the 4 can package, was replaced with the cardboard lid. It is a specially designed Keel Clip cardboard lid that is fully recyclable and biodegradable. 

PACKAGING WASTE MANAGEMENT 

We are committed to cooperating with our partners on establishing a recycling infrastructure in Serbia, as well as educating and promoting recycling of packaging with customers. 

Coca-Cola HBC Serbia is one of the founders of the first packaging waste management operator in Serbia, the company Sekopak. Coca-Cola HBC Serbia, as the producer of non-alcoholic beverages, is placing a significant quantity of packaging on the market, and in line with this approach, through Sekopak, as the packaging waste management company, enables fulfilment of national goals related to collecting packaging waste (glass, PET, cans).

We are actively collaborating with partners from both the government and industry to help establish a deposit refund system (DRS) for managing packaging waste, which is planned to be implemented in Serbia by 2027.

We work on improving the recycling system on all markets we operate on and we encourage customers to recycle their packaging. We are very proud of local initiatives we implemented in this sense in Kučevo, Zrenjanin, Neresnica. 

WASTE GENERATED IN PRODUCTION AND OFFICE SPACES

Compared to 2007, we have reduced waste generated in production per liter of beverage by an impressive 74%. We proudly recycle nearly 100% of production waste in our bottling plants in Belgrade and Vlasina: 99.89% and 99.32%, respectively.

To achieve zero waste to landfill as soon as possible, we launched the "Zero Waste to Landfill" project at our Belgrade bottling facility in 2024. In addition to existing bins for segregating plastic, paper, metal, and glass, we introduced new bins for non-recyclable waste, glass, and organic waste. We encourage our employees to correctly separate all types of waste, aiming to collectively achieve the "zero waste" title.