Two of The Coca-Cola Company’s biggest brands in North America are taking major steps to support a circular economy for plastic packaging. Dasani is rolling out bottles made from 100% recycled PET plastic (excluding caps and labels), and Sprite is transitioning from green to clear plastic to increase the material’s likelihood of being remade into new beverage bottles.
A majority of Dasani bottles in the United States - from 20-oz. and 1.5-liter singles to 10-oz. and 12-oz. multipacks - will be offered in 100% recycled plastic rolling out this summer. In Canada, this innovation spans all Dasani bottles. The shift supports both Dasani’s pledge to remove the equivalent of 2 billion virgin plastic bottles from production by 2027 compared to 2021 levels and the company’s World Without Waste goal to use at least 50% recycled material in its bottles and cans by 2030.
The brand’s transition to 100% recycled plastic is projected to save more than 20 million pounds of new plastic, compared to 2019, and cut more than 25,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions (creating bottles from recycled plastic uses less energy than virgin PET) in 2023 alone.
The Dasani announcement follows a successful launch of 100% recycled plastic* bottles in New York, California and Texas, which also included Coca-Cola Trademark 20-oz. bottles. The launch helped the Coca-Cola system identify the best-quality sources of recycled PET (rPET) and fine-tune production processes needed to make 100% recycled plastic bottles.
Sprite, meanwhile, is shifting all of plastic PET packaging from its signature green color to clear, beginning Aug. 1. Although green PET is recyclable, the recycled material is more often converted into single-use items like clothing and carpeting that cannot be recycled into new PET bottles. During the sorting process, green and other colored PET is separated from clear material to avoid discoloring recycled food-grade packaging required to make new PET bottles.
In addition to transitioning to clear bottles, Sprite is introducing a new visual identity system featuring a revamped logo and packaging design to provide a consistent look and voice around the world. Sprite’s packaging graphics will retain the brand’s recognizable green hue and include prominent “Recycle Me” messaging.
Coca-Cola North America’s entire green plastic portfolio - including packaging for Fresca, Seagram’s and Mello Yello - will transition to clear PET in the coming months.
