Coca-Cola Enterprises and Eco Plastics Unveil Name of Recycling Joint Venture

The Joint Venture with Eco Plastics in GB demonstrates CCE's commitment to achieving ambitious goals to set the standard for sustainable packaging, achieve zero waste in our operations and recycle more packaging than we use.

Sep 23 2011 --- Continuum Recycling reflects goal of continuous process of use, recycling and reuse ECO Plastics start work on new facility and now actively hiring for 30 new roles Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) and ECO Plastics have revealed the name of their pioneering joint venture. A first for the UK recycling and beverage industries, the new business will be known as Continuum Recycling Limited.

The name reflects the fact that the joint venture company will establish a continuous process for re-processing plastic bottles in Great Britain. Used plastic bottles will be recycled in Lincolnshire and the high quality materials produced will be re-used in new Coca-Cola bottles.

Jonathan Short, Managing Director of ECO Plastics said: “Today’s news is important because it demonstrates again our commitment and progress towards realising what will be a revolutionary project for the British recycling and beverage industries. I’m delighted that we are on track to deliver against the ambitious project timetable. “ECO Plastics’ plant is already the largest and most sophisticated in Europe and having put the finishing touches to a £24 million financing packaging in the last month, we will now be able to increase capacity from 100,000 tonnes to 140,000 tonnes of mixed plastic bottles per year, just under 50% of the total collected last year. “I’m also very pleased to be able to announce that we have actively begun looking to hire people to work in the new facility. Not only are these skilled jobs, they’re skilled jobs in a rural area, where employment has been on the decline for some time.” The thirty jobs created will include extrusion, process and quality control posts.

Nick Brown, Commercial Recycling Manager at Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd said: “We are delighted to see that work has started on the new facilities where Continuum Recycling will reprocess bottles to produce high quality material for reuse in our packaging. We are also really pleased to see the start of recruitment for the skilled roles which will make this new business a great success. “Continuum Recycling is a great name for the business; it explains how effective recycling will lead to a continuous process of use, recycling and reuse for plastic bottles. This is a really important step in CCE’s journey to transform recycling in GB.” Since the announcement that ECO Plastics had received planning permission for a £15 million expansion in May, work has advanced rapidly and ground works, foundations and a new road have all already been completed.

The new facility will increase the amount of high-quality bottle-grade rPET currently produced in the UK to more than 75,000 tonnes a year, more than doubling the current total. Having been transformed into food-grade rPET pellet by Continuum Recycling, these will then be used in Coca-Cola bottles, enabling Coca-Cola Enterprises to meet its target of including 25% recycled PET in all its plastics packaging by 2012. - ends - About Coca-Cola Enterprises: Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's largest independent Coca-Cola bottlers. CCE is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. The establishment of Continuum Recycling is an important milestone as part of CCE’s wider leadership approach on corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS).

CCE is working to achieving a range of important CRS targets. The Joint Venture with Eco Plastics in GB demonstrates CCE's commitment to achieving ambitious goals to set the standard for sustainable packaging, achieve zero waste in our operations and recycle more packaging than we use. In Great Britain (GB) Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) employs around 4,500 people across England, Scotland, and Wales at manufacturing sites, regional offices, and depots. CCE is committed to minimising the environmental impact of its products and operations, with a particular focus on sustainable packaging and recycling, water stewardship, and energy and climate protection. About ECO Plastics: ECO Plastics is Europe’s leading ethical plastic bottle recycler. The business began re-processing post consumer plastics in 2006 and has over the past five years quadrupled its processing capacity, tripling the factory footprint.

During early 2009 it became the first UK company to receive food grade accreditation for its rPET resin. ECO Plastics’ £17 million facility is now the largest and most sophisticated in Europe, and is currently being expanded in order to service the business’ groundbreaking joint venture with Coca-Cola Enterprises. On completion the extended plant will be able to process 140,000 tonnes of mixed plastic bottles a year, including 40,000 tonnes of food-grade rPET pellet. ECO Plastics’ superior cleaning technology allows the company to make the most use of the plastic it sorts, producing 11 different streams of plastic, including food-grade PET. Virtually no waste is left over. Independent research has shown that ECO Plastics’ process is 68% less carbon intensive than using virgin plastics for packaging.