Scottish Government
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Coca-cola plant goes zero waste
Coca-Cola's Scottish factory today announced plans to completely stop sending waste to landfill by the end of 2011 - another significant step towards making Scotland a zero waste society.
The plant in East Kilbride, whose products include Coca-Cola, Fanta, Dr Pepper and Sprite, will improve its recycling facilities and work with an external waste contractor to reach the target.
The announcement comes as new SEPA figures reveal that Scotland has exceeded its European landfill target 18 months early, with 1.29 million tonnes of waste being sent to landfill; the end of 2010 target of 1.32 million tonnes has already been met..
Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) made the waste reduction pledge as they opened a new, more efficient production line following an investment of three million pounds by the soft drinks manufacturer.
Opening the new line, which will increase the rate of production by 8,000 bottles an hour, Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead, said:
"As part of our own plans to make Scotland a greener place, the Scottish Government wants to see everyone - the general public, businesses and the public sector - doing their bit to create a zero waste society.
"The private sector has the potential to make a huge contribution towards zero waste and that is why it is so encouraging to see a global name like Coca-Cola showing real leadership by taking long-term action to eradicate waste.
"Seeing efforts such as this first hand as Scotland exceed the initial landfill target is very encouraging and shows a continued and joined-up commitment to waste reduction. However, our commitment must not end here. We need to stop viewing waste as a problem and start recognising its economic potential."
Coca-Cola Enterprise's East Kilbride Operations Director, Jim Duddy said:
"Currently about 93 per cent of the factory waste is recycled and our teams are completely focused on improving our waste avoidance, each day, and at every step in our process".
Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE) is a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc, the world's largest marketer, producer and distributor of the products of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC). Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd manufactures and distributes TCCC products, as well as products for other brand-owners, throughout England, Scotland and Wales, and employs around 4,600 people.
The Scottish team has a strong track record of innovation. The East Kilbride factory was the first Coca-Cola factory worldwide to manufacture the 500ml plastic bottle. Today, the 'washing' of new empty bottles before they are filled, which has traditionally been done using water, now uses blasts of ionized air, reducing the amount of water used in the production process.
The EU Landfill Directive requires Scotland to reduce to a maximum of 1.32 million tonnes the amount of biodegradable municipal waste sent to landfill by the end of 2010. However, new figures published by SEPA show that target has already been achieved with 1.29 million tonnes being landfilled.
