Coca-Cola European Partners Iberia has begun the production and distribution of cans of 'Coca-Cola' grouped with cardboard at its facilities in Barcelona, ​​after allocating a € 2.6 million outlay to incorporate the WestRock company's 'CanCollar' technology and adapt the plant's current can packaging line. 'CanCollar' is a solution made of recyclable cardboard with PEFC certification, which allows the cans to be grouped with a process that does not require, in addition, the use of glue or adhesives. The start-up of the new facility and the process of adapting the line –sized to pack and group 1,800 cans per minute– took place between the months of March and September. Once the testing and testing phase is finished, the distribution of the new groups in the Balearic Islands is scheduled to begin, the first phase of the implementation plan.

Thanks to the implementation of this technology, Coca-Cola will be able to distribute more than 4.5 M can groupers of products from its portfolio, which will mean savings of more than 18 tons of plastic per year. The production and distribution of clusters of cans with ‘CanCollar’ technology is part of the multinational ‘Advance’ sustainability strategy in Western Europe.

In 2019, the elimination of the grouping rings in the company's 330 ml cans allowed the elimination of 35.3 t of plastic, to which is added the 5.15 t of the withdrawal of the shrink film from the 200 ml cans. In Spain 99.6% of its packaging is recyclable and the content of recycled material in it has increased with 25% recycled plastic in its packaging and the objective of raising that percentage to 50% in the next two years.

Recently, the multinational has presented its first prototype of a bottle made of paper as a result of its R & D & i work together with the Danish start-up Paboco (The Paper Bottle Company, born from the collaboration of packaging specialists BillerudKorsnäs and Alpla), with which he works to create bottles from renewable, recyclable and biodegradable materials.