Coke lauds recycling plant as environmental milestone

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — At some events, people toast with champagne.

In Spartanburg on Wednesday, a tent full of people took a swig of Coke Classic to commemorate what the beverage giant called an environmental milestone.

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JASON GETZ / jgetz@ajc.com

In the bottle sorting area of the recycling plant, material handlers Latoya Stevenson (left) and Cynthia Kelly look for aluminum to remove from the conveyor belt.

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JASON GETZ / jgetz@ajc.com

Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America (right), toasts what the company called an environmental milestone with Jeff Seabright, Coke vice president for environment and water resources.

PLANT FACTS
Coca-Cola and United Resource Recovery Corp. held the grand opening Wednesday in South Carolina for the world's largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant.
• 30: Size of plant in acres.
• $40-50 million: Amount invested so far by Coca-Cola in the plant.
• 100: New employees at the plant.
• 100 million: Pounds of recycled PET plastic it can produce each year for reuse in bottles.
• 2 billion: Equivalent of 20-ounce PET plastic Coca-Cola bottled produced in recycled material.

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In this case, the bottles, not just the soda, were special. They were made from 30 percent recycled PET plastic as Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. and United Resource Recovery Corp, a Spartanburg firm, celebrated the opening of the world’s largest bottle-to-bottle PET plastic recycling plant.

At full operation, the plant, a joint venture of Coke and URRC, will be able to produce each year 100 million pounds of food-grade recycled plastic. That’s the equivalent of 2 billion 20-ounce plastic bottles.

The Spartanburg recycling plant is part of a broader effort by Coke to help the environment. In recent years, the company has set goals to more efficiently use water and energy and recycle more aluminum and plastic bottles.

Coca-Cola has set a long-term goal to recycle or reuse 100 percent of its bottles and cans in the United States. By 2010, it hopes to recover 30 percent of its bottles and cans and have 10 percent recycled content in its plastic bottles.

“Today, we celebrate another milestone … a real action along the path,” said Sandy Douglas, president of Coca-Cola North America.

URRC’s technology is in use at seven other plants around the world, but the Spartanburg plant is the largest and the only one in the United States. The plant is a 30-acre facility on the outskirts of Spartanburg.

Plastic bottles arrive at the plant in massive rectangular bundles weighing 700 to 1,000 pounds each. The bundles are then broken apart and the bottles sorted through a series of conveyer belt and washing stations. Much of the process is spent separating out non-PET materials, such as metal, bottle caps and paper, as well as unmentionable material that ends up in emptied plastic bottles. (PET stands for polyethylene terephthalate.)

The plastic is ground, heated in a kiln and turned into chips. These chips are sent to Coca-Cola plants to be mixed with virgin PET to make new bottles.

The plastic must meet FDA requirements and Coca-Cola specifications for beverage containers.

The plant is being accompanied by a multimillion-dollar Coca-Cola marketing campaign, part of its “Give It Back” program, to encourage people to turn in their bottles and cans for recycling. Coke debuted Tuesday night on “American Idol” a 30-second TV ad that showed customers putting bottles and cans into collecting containers. The bottles and cans then popped out of beverage machines or onto grocery store shelves.

South Carolina state and local officials praised Coca-Cola and its partner, URRC, for adding 100 jobs to the area and helping it join the green economy. A representative from the S.C. Department of Commerce presented the companies with a state flag on behalf of the governor.

Critics seek more

Coca-Cola’s efforts, though, have yet to silence some watchdog groups who want the beverage giant to take bolder actions.

The Spartanburg plant is a positive move but does not address the real issue, said Patti Lynn, campaigns director for Corporate Accountability International, a Boston-based advocacy group. Its “Think Outside the Bottle Campaign” has targeted the bottled water businesses of Coke, PepsiCo and Nestle.

Corporate Accountability would like Coke to bottle less water, decreasing the overall amount of plastic and water it uses in the first place.

Coke also has sent mixed messages, Lynn said. It has opposed bills that try to encourage recycling by giving a return deposit on bottles, she said. “I think a number of corporations are looking for ways to be seen as being more environmentally friendly,” Lynn said. “Our concern with Coke is that they haven’t nearly taken enough steps along that road.”

Coca-Cola officials disagreed. The company does not believe bottle deposit programs are the best way to encourage recycling, said Jeff Seabright, Coke vice president for environment and water resources.

Deposits raise prices for consumers and also single out bottles and cans, Seabright said. Coke backs comprehensive recycling programs that also include other recyclables, such as paper.

The plant and marketing program are proof that Coke cares about recycling, Seabright said. Coke has invested $40 million to $50 million so far in the project.

“We’re supporting recycling in a very aggressive way, putting our money where our mouth is,” Seabright said.

Coca-Cola believes the plant not only helps its environmental efforts but also lifts the overall plastic recycling market, said Scott Vitters, the company’s director of sustainable packaging. It sends a signal to the market that bottles are valuable after they’re used, he said.

“This plant helps to ensure in the United States that the demand for recovered bottles remains strong,” Vitters said.