Coca-Cola India and Reliance Retail Team Up for 'Bhool Na Jana, Plastic Bottle Lautana' PET Collection and Recycling Initiative

~Pilot initiative commenced in 36 Reliance Retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi
~ PET collection and recycling initiative to be expanded to 200 Reliance stores in India by 2025
 ~Aims to collect 5,00,000 PET bottles annually in the pilot phase

MUMBAI, India, Jan. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Coca-Cola India and India's largest retailer, Reliance Retail, announced the launch of a sustainability initiative titled 'Bhool Na Jana, Plastic Bottle Lautana', focused on post-consumer PET collection at Reliance Retail stores in Mumbai through Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) and collection bins. With a vision for a circular economy, this pilot project, aligned with the Government's Swachh Bharat Mission, has commenced in 36 Reliance Retail stores including Smart Bazaar and Sahakari Bhandar stores in Mumbai and Delhi, and will expand to 200 stores across the country by 2025 with a target of collecting 5,00,000 PET bottles annually in the pilot phase.

The initiative was launched in the presence of Kazi Irfan, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Solid Waste Management, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), at Reliance Retail's Smart Bazaar store in Santa Cruz.

The installed RVMs and collection bins will give consumers a convenient way to deposit used PET bottles in exchange for compelling discounts on Coca-Cola India products. The disposed PET bottles will be collected and recycled by Reliance Industries (RIL), a leader in the recycling of polyester and plastics. This initiative will facilitate smooth waste collection by engaging consumers in responsible waste management - transitioning away from a traditional linear economy.

Speaking on the launch, Mr. Damodar Mall, Chief Executive Officer, Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail Ltd, said, "Indian families have had the habit of not trashing milk pouches, plastic bottles, even newspapers, daily. We clean, collect them, and hand them over to raddiwalas, who in today's world are the unique front-end army of recyclers. SmartBazaar, as a modern retailer continues to encourage this habit, with modern methods. Our pilot with our store shoppers, with the support of Coca-Cola India and Reliance Industries, is one such attempt we plan to pursue with our wide network of stores."

Ms. Greishma Singh, Vice President – Customer and Commercial Leadership, Coca–Cola India and Southwest Asia said, "Through this partnership and platform, we are delighted that we can generate awareness and give shoppers a convenient and engaging way to recycle their PET bottles in return for compelling offers while they are shopping at Reliance stores. Partnerships such as this one built around consumer-centric ideas, we believe, can be a powerful multiplier for progress on collection, recycling, and reuse." 

Mr. Hemant D Sharma, President - Growth and Strategy, Polyester, RIL, said, "Reliance stands as a trailblazer in sustainability and circularity, leading India's charge in transforming waste into valuable resources. Recycling 2 billion PET bottles annually, with a plan to scale it to 5 billion, RIL epitomizes a commitment to sustainability that predates current trends and sets the standard for eco-friendly manufacturing. For over two decades, RIL has championed recycling post-consumer PET bottles, demonstrating a foresighted dedication to a greener, circular future."

This initiative is a key step toward Coca-Cola's commitment to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100% of the packaging the company produces as part of its World Without Waste strategy. It will act as an anchor, retaining the sustainability momentum activated by Coca-Cola India's 'Return and Recycle' initiative in collaboration with Zepto which has witnessed participation from 50,000 households in India and the successful RVM installations across 75 cities in the country, collecting 1 Tonne of PET waste.  

About Coca-Cola India:

Coca-Cola in India is one of the country's leading beverage companies, offering a range of high-quality and refreshing beverage options to consumers. The company in line with its vision of 'Beverages For Life' offers a wide portfolio of products which includes hydration, sports, sparkling, coffee, tea, nutrition, juice and dairy based products. In India its beverage range includes Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Charged by Thums Up, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Maaza, Minute Maid range of juices. The Company also offers hydration beverages including Limca Sportz, Smartwater, Kinley, Dasani and Bonaqua packaged drinking water and Kinley Club Soda. Premium products constitute Schweppes and Smartwater. In addition, it offers Costa Coffee- a range of tea and coffee. The Company is constantly transforming its portfolio, from reducing sugar in its drinks to bringing innovative new products to market.

The Company along with its owned bottling operations and franchise bottling partners has a strong network of close to 4 million retail outlets through which it refreshes millions of consumers across the country. It seeks to positively impact people's lives, communities and the planet through water replenishment, packaging recycling, sustainable agriculture initiatives and carbon emission reductions across its value chain.

Globally together with its bottling partners, The Coca-Cola Company employs more than 7,00,000 people, helping to bring economic opportunity to local communities worldwide. Learn more at www.cocacolacompany.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Reliance Retail Ventures Limited:

Reliance Retail Limited is a subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), the holding company of all the retail companies under the RIL (Reliance Industries Limited) group. RRL and other subsidiaries and affiliates of RRVL, operate an integrated omni-channel network of over 18,650 stores and digital commerce platforms across Consumer Electronics, Fashion & Lifestyle, Grocery and Pharma consumption baskets. RRVL has partnered with over 3 million merchants through its New Commerce initiative. Reliance Retail Limited is the only Indian retailer in the global Top 100 and amongst the fastest growing retailers globally as per Deloitte's Global Powers of Retailing 2023. RRVL reported a consolidated turnover of ₹ 260,364 crore ($ 31.7 billion) and net profit of ₹ 9,181 crore ($ 1.1 billion) for the year ended March 31, 2023.

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