Australia targets transition to 100% recycled content PET bottles.

PET bottles and other plastic products are indispensable in our daily lives. Still, the amount of plastic waste around the world is increasing each year, and this is having various impacts on the environment.

In response to the environmental impact of the increasing amount of PET plastic bottles being discarded worldwide, the Asahi Group is promoting the use of recycled PET bottles. Here, we look at specific efforts being promoted by our colleagues in Australia.

According to a report by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, more than 8.3 billion tons of PET bottles and other plastics have been produced worldwide since 1950, 6.3 billion tons of which have gone to waste. While 79% of the world's plastic waste is landfilled or dumped into the ocean etc., only 9% of plastic worldwide is recycled. As you can see, reducing this increasing plastic waste is a worldwide challenge.

In this way, the Asahi Group sees it as a vital mission to reduce the environmental impact and ensure the continued use of containers and packaging, which are indispensable to modern life.

To this end, the Asahi Group has established the group goal 3R+Innovation (3R: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) *1 and are promoting efforts to achieve it.

The non-alcohol beverages business in Australia and Japan, in particular, uses many plastic containers such as PET bottles, and so we are expanding the introduction of eco-friendly recycled PET bottles such as those that use 100% recycled content.

Recycled PET bottles are made from recycled PET resin produced from used PET bottles and other food containers. Asahi Beverages, which oversees the non-alcohol beverages business in Australia, has used recycled PET bottles for the Cool Ridge mineral water brand since 2019. The company aims to expand this effort and targets a transition to 100% recycled content for PET bottles by 2030 (excluding cap and label).

To further reduce environmental impact, Asahi Beverages has established a joint venture with packaging manufacturer Pact Group Holdings, the waste management services provider Cleanaway Waste Management and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners to contribute to a circular economy*4 in Australia. The joint venture is (https://circularplasticsaustralia.com/) Circular Plastics Australia.

The JV began construction of Australia’s largest PET recycling plant in 2021 in Albury, New South Wales, in southeastern Austr It officially opened a year later, with the capacity to produce up to around 20,000 tons of recycled PET per year, equivalent to about 1 billion PET bottles. alia.

It will contribute to a circular economy by significantly increasing the amount of rPET procured within Australia and reducing the use of virgin (non-recycled) plastic and imported PET materials.

The $45 million plant has boosted regional jobs and significantly increased the amount of locally sourced and recycled PET in Australia. This project was supported with about $5 million from the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, with the support of the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund.

The JV is constructing a second PET plastic recycling plant in Melbourne, Victoria that will officially open in December 2023. This plant will also have the capacity to recycle the equivalent of around 1 billion PET beverage bottles each year.

This facility was supported by a $6 million grant through the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the Victorian Government’s Recycling Victoria – Recycling Modernisation Fund

As described above, the Asahi Group has worked to promote the use of recycled PET bottles in Australia, and promote a circular economy. We will continue to pursue our target to transition to 100% recycled content PET bottles by 2030.

Please see the following page for more information on our Sustainable Packaging.
Environment

*1 Targeted plastic containers: PET bottles, plastic bottles, certain caps used for PET and plastic bottles, and plastic cups (used for sales), etc.
*2 Reusable, recyclable (including technical recyclability), compostable, thermal recyclable, etc. Target companies: Asahi Breweries, Asahi Soft Drinks, Asahi Europe and International, Asahi Holdings Australia, and Asahi Holdings Southeast Asia.
*3 Target companies: Asahi Soft Drinks, Asahi Europe & International, Asahi Holdings Australia, and Asahi Holdings Southeast Asia.
*4 An economic system in which discarded products and raw materials are now regarded as resources and circulated through recycling and reuse.