Robinsons, Lipton Ice Tea and Drench move to 100% rPET bottles

Britvic said its Robinsons, Lipton Ice Tea and drench 500ml bottles will be moving to 100% recycled plastic (rPET) this summer.

The on-the-go bottles are the first to use recycled plastic from a new rPET manufacturing facility in North Yorkshire, built by Esterform Packaging Limited following Britvic’s £5 million investment support in 2019.

Mark Tyne, Esterform’s managing director, said: “Our £20 million project to produce 42,000 tonnes of recycled food grade PET could not have got off the ground without Britvic’s support and we look forward to working together to rollout recycled PET usage across Britvic’s portfolio.”

Britvic said the switch will save 1,354 tonnes of virgin plastic every year. This is in addition to the 1,900 tonnes already saved by Ballygowan Mineral Water and Fruit Shoot Hydro switching to rPET bottles.

“We are extremely proud and excited to see the first use of Esterpet in our iconic brands as they make the move to 100% rPET,” Sarah Webster, director of sustainable business at Britvic, said.

“It’s a fantastic example of the progress made in the facility with Britvic’s investment support and the first in a series of changes using Esterpet packaging as we continue our journey to fulfil our rPET commitment.”

Esterform Packaging is the UK’s largest independent converter of PET and has supplied Britvic for over 15 years.