Coke recycling plant set to open

Coca-Cola Co. and United Resource Recovery Corp. will celebrate next week in Spartanburg, S.C., the opening of the world’s largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant.

The facility is jointly owned by Atlanta-based Coca-Cola and United Resource Recovery, a Spartanburg-based PET plastic recycling company. The grand opening is scheduled for Jan. 14.

The 30-acre plant, which has been running at low volumes since mid-November, is expected to ramp up to full operation this year, said Coca-Cola spokeswoman Kirsten Witt.

The plant will be able to produce annually about 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled PET plastic — the equivalent of almost 2 billion 20-ounce Coca-Cola bottles.

Coca-Cola and other beverage makers have been criticized by environmental groups for their use of plastic bottles, which contribute to swelling landfills.

Coca-Cola has set a long-term goal to recycle or reuse 100 percent of the company’s bottles and cans in the United States. By 2010, Coca-Cola hopes to recycle or reuse 30 percent of its bottles and cans in the U.S., Witt said.