Coca-Cola Lightens Its Bottles To Cut Plastic Waste

Image via The Coca-Cola Company

Coca-Cola is getting in shape, and it’s not just for an ephemeral summer bod. The company is rolling out redesigned, lighter-weight PET bottles across its sparkling beverage portfolio in the US and Canada.

These new bottles mark the first major redesign for Coca-Cola's small PET bottles in over a decade. The revamped design focuses on reducing the amount of plastic used in production. Previously, 12-ounce, 16.9-ounce, and 20-ounce bottles weighed in at around 21 grams. The new lineup sheds some weight, bringing that number down to 18.5 grams for all Coca-Cola’s sparkling brands, including Sprite, Fanta, and Minute Maid offerings.

“We intentionally started with our highest-selling SKUs,” explains Alejandro Santamaria, senior director for global packaging development and innovation. “And we are not leaving any rock unturned when it comes to reducing our per-package use of PET material.”

The secret lies in a combination of advanced modeling technology and design tweaks. By optimizing the preform design (the initial tube-like shape) and incorporating specific features in the bottle itself, the brand’s engineers were able to reduce material usage while maintaining the structural integrity and functionality of the packaging. This is especially crucial for carbonated beverages, where bottle strength is essential to holding pressure and preserving that signature fizz.

This seemingly small change translates into a big environmental impact. Coca-Cola estimates that the transition will reduce its use of new plastic by the equivalent of approximately 800 million bottles in 2025 compared to 2024.

Part of its World Without Waste initiative, this decision comes alongside Coca-Cola’s other efforts to promote a circular economy for its products, including increasing the use of recycled plastic and exploring refillable packaging solutions.

[via Dieline and Packaging Insights, cover image via The Coca-Cola Company]