MOSCOW (MRC) -- PepsiCo Beverages North America announced that it is investing USD35m in the creation of the "Closed Loop Local Recycling Fund", managed by Closed Loop Partners, said Packaging-gateway.
The fund aims to strengthen recycling infrastructure, specifically targeting the collection of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), among other materials. Closed Loop Partners is a New York-based investment firm focused on building the circular economy. They will use this fund to launch small-scale modular materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in communities lacking access to existing recycling facilties. Each MRF will have the capacity to recycle 8,000 tonnes/year of material.
PepsiCo has collaborated with Closed Loop Partners for several years, beginning in 2014 as a founding member of the original Closed Loop Infrastructure Fund, and more recently investing USD15m in the Closed Loop Partners' Leadership Fund. Additionally, they are an investor in the Closed Loop Partners Beverage Fund, sponsored by the American Beverage Every Bottle Back Initiative.
Through investments in recycling infrastructure, PepsiCo hopes to achieve several sustainable packaging targets. By 2030, all Pepsi-branded products will be offered in 100% recycled PET (R-PET) bottles, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100% R-PET bottles by 2022. Demand for post-consumer recycled (PCR) content has significantly increased in recent years, as fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies have pledged to use PCR content in their packaging over the next 5-10 years.
As per MRC, PepsiCo wants to cut the use of virgin plastic by 50% serving and use 50% recycled content in plastic packaging by 2030. Beverage and food supplier PepsiCo has announced a new goal to cut virgin plastic per serving by 50 per cent across its global food and beverage portfolio by 2030 as part of its new “pep+,” or PepsiCo Positive, company initiative. In a Sept. 15 news release, the company also said it plans to use 50 per cent recycled content in its plastic packaging by 2030.
In the U.S., all Pepsi-branded products will be converted to 100 per cent rPET bottles by 2030, with Pepsi Zero Sugar beginning to be sold in 100 per cent rPET bottles by 2022.
MRC