Coca-Cola already collected and recycled over 100 kgs of PET bottles as a pilot
New Delhi: Coca-Cola and Zepto have expanded their collaboration to reinforce their commitment towards plastic circularity, the brands announced in a press release on Tuesday.
The ‘Return and Recycle’ initiative was launched in November 2022 at select locations of Mumbai. Under this initiative, an organized process of collecting polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles with 100% traceability, to ensure effective plastic waste management. Over 100 kgs of PET bottles were collected and recycled as a part of the 60-day pilot.
The initiative will now be scaled with collection bins deployed across hundreds of Zepto delivery hubs in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and Kolkata.
“The success of Coca-Cola’s partnership with Zepto has been characterized by strong synergies in sustainability and social responsibility. We are delighted to extend the partnership to other cities, continuing our efforts towards plastic circularity. With the ‘return and recycle’ initiative across India, we are furthering the company’s global goal of creating a world without waste,” said Abhishek Gupta, chief customer officer, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia.
This programme is in line with the ‘self-sustainable initiative’ and the government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission. The aim is to encourage its consumers to recycle PET by raising awareness, the release added.
“This collaboration has been an exciting opportunity to demonstrate the potential of new-age e-commerce beyond business. We are proud to have built an agile and efficient last-mile network that seamlessly extends itself to innovative initiatives like this,” said Vinay Dhanani, chief operations officer at Zepto.
“Be it route optimization, EV or bicycle-led deliveries, sustainable packaging, or reducing waste, we are committed to reducing our footprint and sharing our vision with brands and the Government of India,” Dhanani added.
Launched in 1886 by Dr. John Pemberton, the world’s first ever Coca-Cola was served at Jacobs’ Pharmacy in Atlanta, Ga., according to the brand’s website. Currently, Coca-Cola’s beverage portfolio includes more than 200 brands and thousands of beverages around the world, from soft drinks and water to coffee and tea.
Zepto enables deliveries of over 3000 products, ranging from fresh vegetables and fruits to daily necessities, across 10 major cities in India. These include Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Ghaziabad, Kolkata, Noida, Pune, Hyderabad, and Gurgaon.
