Suntory PepsiCo Beverage became the first soft drinks company to launch 100% recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) or rPET bottles in Thailand in April 2023. With this move, the company has kicked off the rPET packaging and bottle-to-bottle recycling movement in Thailand, as other multinational and domestic beverage companies are expected to follow suit. Circular economies are crucial for curbing the scourge of plastic pollution in Thailand, where PET bottles made up nearly 60% of soft drinks packaging volume (in metric tonnes) in 2022*, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
Tim Hill, Key Account Director at GlobalData Singapore, comments: “PET bottles are the most widely used packaging format in the Thai soft drinks sector, with applications across all categories, particularly high-volume categories, such as packaged water and carbonates. Despite the increasing use of sustainable aluminum and paper & board packaging in recent years, PET bottles will remain dominant in the sector through 2027*, given their good aesthetic, barrier-protection, and lightweight properties.”
Bobby Verghese, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, adds: “PET bottles are, however, a leading contributor to single-use plastic waste that ends up in landfills and the oceans. With increasing pressure from governments across the globe, environmental lobby groups, and eco-conscious Gen Z and Gen Y consumers, leading consumer packaged goods companies worldwide have committed to making 100% of their plastic packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2025. Considering the current limitations of reusable and compostable or biodegradable plastic technologies, transitioning from virgin PET plastic to rPET packaging is the only viable option for CPG companies to honor their sustainability commitments.”
Verghese adds: “However, the implementation of Suntory PepsiCo’s bottle-to-bottle recycling system involves the participation of multiple stockholders in Thailand. To begin with, the Thai Food and Drug Administration passed legislation approving the use of recycled resins derived from landfill or ocean-bound plastic waste for food-grade packaging applications. Also, Suntory PepsiCo had to adopt easily recyclable PET bottle designs. Moreover, the company tied up with ENVICCO Limited, a plastics manufacturer, to ensure an adequate supply of certified high-quality recycled PET resin. The company is coordinating with retailers, municipal waste management agencies, rag pickers, curbside waste collectors, and consumers to collect every post-consumer disposed bottle.
“The latter is critical for ensuring an uninterrupted supply of raw materials to the plastics manufacturers as demand scales up. Akin to Thailand, other Asia-Pacific countries, from South Korea to India, have amended their packaging laws to accommodate rPET bottles. As a result, the demand for food-grade rPET in the region is expected to skyrocket in the coming years.”
Hill concludes: “Suntory PepsiCo announced plans to print bottle labels with the tagline ‘Pepsi 100% Recycled’ and running its ‘Fizzy Consciousness to Change the World’ campaign to generate public awareness about the new eco-friendly bottle format. The launch of the recycled bottles and accompanying activations can resonate with 41% of Thai consumers, who feel that recyclable packaging is a feature they actively look for when making a purchase**.”
* GlobalData Packaging Intelligence Center – Market Analyzers, accessed in April 2023
** GlobalData Q4 2022 Consumer Survey – Thailand with 525 respondents, published in November 2022
