Coca-Cola China launches community recycling initiative

Coca-Cola China has launched a community recycling initiative at Hongshan Forest Zoo in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, recycling discarded plastic beverage bottles and turning recycled materials into public facilities as the company seeks to encourage consumer participation in reducing packaging waste.

"The Amazing Bottle" initiative was officially launched on Nov 9, following more than a year of pilot operations. During the year, about 17.8 metric tons of plastic — equivalent to around 700,000 beverage bottles — were collected with the participation of zoo visitors.

The project marks Coca-Cola China's first community co-creation initiative focused on beverage container collection, bringing together consumers, nonprofit organizations, recycling companies, and local partners to promote recycling in public spaces.

Under the program, visitors are encouraged to deposit empty plastic beverage bottles into designated collection bins after consumption. The collected materials are processed for use in public amenities, including shade structures, barriers, and vending machine canopies.

At the zoo's north entrance, a shade structure incorporates recycled materials equivalent to about 8,450 beverage bottles. Similar materials have been used in barriers across seven exhibition zones and canopies installed above Coca-Cola vending machines.

"I was surprised to learn that the shade structure at the zoo's entrance was made from recycled plastic beverage bottles," a visitor surnamed Zhu said. "I never used to think about what happened to empty plastic bottles. Now that I can see how they can be reused, I'm more mindful about recycling."