Britvic enters long-term agreement for supply of recycled plastic

Britvic has entered a long-term agreement with Esterform Packaging for the supply of recycled plastic (rPET), as part of its sustainability programme.

The soft drinks producer and distributor will invest £5 million to support the construction of Esterform’s new rPET manufacturing facility in North Yorkshire.

Under the terms of the agreement, Esterform will become Britvic’s preferred supplier of rPET in Great Britain and Ireland.

As part of its sustainable packaging strategy, Britvic aims to reduce the use of virgin PET and increase its use of rPET, in a move to create an effective circular economy.

According to Britvic, there is insufficient capacities of food-grade rPET currently available in the UK. This deal however will provide the Hertfordshire-based company with secure access to the material.

Esterforms’ new manufacturing facility will be powered by 100% renewable energy sources and is expected to be operating by Q4 2020.

Britvic’s sustainability director Trystan Farnworth said: “At Britvic, we are committed to making a positive difference to the world around us and our partnership with Esterform is another important step forward for our business and our efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of plastic waste.

“It provides us with a secure supply of rPET at a time when the resource is scarce in the UK, while sourcing it from this country rather than abroad has clear benefits for our carbon footprint.”

Britvic is a founding signatory of the UK Plastics Pact, and since 2017, 100% of its PET bottles, glass bottles and cans can be recycled.