Coca-Cola HBC Italia and IVS: in line with European environmental goals, 20,000 vending machines will remind consumers of their role in the circular economy

"How many lives can a bottle have?"  is the new edutainment initiative of the two companies to invite consumers to properly dispose of PET bottles in a playful way.

Milan, 22 November 2021 - "How many lives can a bottle have?" is the name of the new initiative designed to raise consumer awareness of the correct recovery of PET bottles born from the collaboration between Coca-Cola HBC Italia, the main bottler of The Coca-Cola Company brand products in Italy, and IVS Italia, a leader in automatic catering. From 22 November to 31 December, by downloading Coffee cApp, the application designed by IVS to pay for the coffee break with the smartphone at about 20,000 of the company's latest generation vending machines throughout Italy that offer The Coca-Cola Company brand products in 100% recycled plastic (rPET) bottles, consumers will have the opportunity to participate in a short quiz on PET recycling and win a discount for the purchase of a product from the Coca-Cola portfolio, also in a 100% rPET bottle.  

This new collaboration responds to the requirements of the European Single-Use Plastics Directive (so-called SUP Directive) which sets two ambitious sustainability goals for PET bottles: increasing^recycling1 and making new bottles with an increasing proportion of recycled PET (rPET)².  PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate), the plastic of which the disposable bottles that contain the drinks also present in vending machines are made, is in fact a 100% recyclable material numerous times, which preserves the highest quality of the product and does not lose its fundamental properties during the recovery process in new bottles.

"The partnership with IVS Italia is a further initiative to remind us that PET bottles can have countless lives and raise awareness among consumers about their key role in the circular economy of this material through the correct disposal," says Giangiacomo Pierini, Public Affairs & Communication Director Coca-Cola HBC Italia" As a company we will continue to invest to use more and more bottles of our brands made from 100% recycled plastic, but the contribution of the entire supply chain is essential to transform waste into a resource and thus have the secondary raw material necessary to achieve European objectives"

"Awareness, information, culture of materials, culture of disposal" says Laura Rodriguez, Marketing Manager Ivs Group, "these are the pillars on which the battle to spread the Plastic control project within our company and our customers is based. The info-promotion, developed in 4 hands with Coca-Cola HBC Italia through our Coffee cApp application , reaches our consumers directly at the precise moment of consumption and consequent disposal and represents an example of digital, sustainable, responsible and concrete best practice". 

"How many lives can a bottle have" joins "RiVending PET" the project for the selective collection of PET bottles in vending machines, promoted by Confida (Italian Association of Automatic Distribution), Corepla (National Consortium for the Collection and Recovery of Plastic Packaging) and UnionPlast (National Union of Plastic Processing Industries – Plastic Rubber Federation) that Coca-Cola HBC Italia has decided to support creating dedicated bins in 700 break areas throughout Italy. With its 820,000 vending machines installed in public and private offices, hospitals, schools and universities, stations and airports, the vending sector has a strong potential for education on the recovery and correct recycling of PET packaging.

1 – 77% in 2025 and 90% in 2029

2 – minimum 25% recycled PET (rPET) by 2025 and minimum 30% recycled PET (rPET) by 2030