Sprite will no longer be sold in green bottles due to recyclability

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Sprite green bottle change overview: 

• Who: The Coca-Cola Company has announced Sprite bottles will no longer be green; they will be clear.
• Why: Green bottles are often recycled into single-use items while clear bottles are more frequently recycled into other bottles that can be recycled again, the company says.
• Where: The change will be nationwide.

Sprite will not longer come in its signature green bottle starting Aug. 1

The Coca-Cola Company announced July 27 that all of Sprite’s packaging would be moving from green plastic to clear plastic to increase the bottle’s likelihood of being remade into new bottles. 

According to the company, although the green PET plastic bottles that Sprite currently comes in is recyclable, the recycled material is most often converted into single-use items like clothing and carpeting that cannot be recycled into new PET bottles. 

Sprite green bottle less likely to be recycled into new bottles

During the recycling sorting process, green and other colored PET is separated from clear plastic to avoid discoloring new packaging, says R3CYCLE CEO Julian Ochoa, who is working with Coca-Cola on recycling. 

“Taking colors out of bottles improves the quality of the recycled material,” Ochoa says in the announcement. “This transition will help increase availability of food-grade recyclable PET. When recycled, clear PET Sprite bottles can be remade into bottles, helping drive a circular economy for plastic.”

The move will keep more bottles in the “circular economy,” meaning plastic bottles become other plastic bottles indefinitely.  

In addition to transitioning to clear bottles, Sprite is introducing new packaging graphics with a prominent “Recycle Me” message.

Coca-Cola North America’s entire green plastic portfolio, including packaging for Fresca, Seagram’s and Mello Yello, will transition to clear PET in the coming months, the company added.

Sprite has been packaged in  green bottles for more than 60 years. However, The Coca-Cola Company has often been criticized for contributing to environmentally damaging plastic waste. In 2020, the company was named as the world’s No. 1 plastic polluter by the environmental firm Break Free From Plastic, CNN reports.

The company has also announced that a majority of Dasani bottles in the United States  and Canada will now be sold in 100% recycled plastic. 

It says this innovation is projected to reduce roughly 20 million pounds of new plastic waste compared to 2019.

Meanwhile, late last year, Sprite, Coca-Cola and Minute Maid beverages were recalled across the southern states due to containing “undisclosed foreign matter,” including metal pieces. 

What do you think of the fact that Sprite will no longer come in a green bottle? Let us know your thoughts in the comments! 

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