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Sprite is retiring its iconic green plastic bottle after more than 60 years
Sprite is ditching its iconic green plastic bottle in favor of more sustainable clear bottles, its parent company, The Coca-Cola Company, announced Wednesday.
The new design will start Aug. 1 and is part of an effort to “support a circular economy for plastic packaging," The Coca-Cola Company said in a statement.
Although the green polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging Sprite bottles are currently made of is recyclable, because of its color, it's separated from other clear items to avoid discoloring material used to make new PET bottles.
R3CYCLE, a reprocessing company working with Coca-Cola Consolidated to enable bottle-to-bottle recycling across the U.S., praised the decision.
“Taking colors out of bottles improves the quality of the recycled material,” Julian Ochoa, R3CYCLE CEO, said in a statement. “This transition will help increase availability of food-grade rPET. When recycled, clear PET Sprite bottles can be remade into bottles, helping drive a circular economy for plastic.”
Sprite will also revamp its logo and will feature a prominent "Recycle Me" message, along with the new packaging design. But its green legacy will live on with the bottle's packaging graphics and in keeping its recognizable green cap.