By Ananya Mehra, Sustainability Correspondent
Ananya Mehra is a veteran environmental journalist with 10 years’ experience covering waste-management policy and corporate sustainability across South Asia.
Key Quote from Coca-Cola India
“Moving away from single-use plastic sleeves is a crucial step in our ‘World Without Waste’ journey. By 2026, all our PET bottles in India will carry minimalist, recyclable labels—eliminating over 5,000 tonnes of plastic annually.”
— Greishma Singh, VP, Sustainability, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. coca-cola.com
5 Key Takeaways
- What’s Changing?
- All Coca-Cola India PET bottles will shed their PVC shrink-wrap sleeves by end-2026.
- Labels will transition to lightweight, direct-print or paper-based solutions.
- Why Now?
- India generates 9.3 million tonnes of plastic waste yearly—of which sleeves account for ~5% in beverage packaging streams thecirculateinitiative.org.
- New government mandates require 30% recycled PET content by 2025 and 60% by 2028 in all bottles .
- Environmental Impact
- Eliminating sleeves could cut 5,000 tonnes of non-recyclable plastic per year.
- Boosts material recovery facility efficiency by reducing contamination from mixed-material labels.
- Supply-Chain Shifts
- Bottling partners like HCCBPL will upgrade printing lines for direct-to-bottle inks.
- Collaboration with Packaging Association for Clean Environment (PACE) to scale paper-label supply.
- Consumer Benefits
- Clearer “Recycle Me Again” messaging will replace opaque sleeves, improving consumer recycling rates.
- Potential for modest cost savings, which Coca-Cola India pledges to pass on via promotional offers.
Expert Analysis
In an email interview, Dr. Rohan Pandit, Senior Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), emphasized the move’s significance:
“Streamlined labels drastically reduce plastic leakage into informal recycling streams. This is a scalable example of design-for-recycling that other FMCG companies should emulate.”
Timeline of the Phase-Out
- 2024 Q4: Pilot conversion in West and South India bottling plants
- 2025 Q2: Nationwide rollout begins; 30 billion bottles slated for new labels
- 2026 Q4: Full phase-out of all shrink-wrapped sleeves across India
Fact-Check
| Claim | Source/Verification |
|---|---|
| Sleeves account for 5% of beverage-packaging waste | CPCB Plastic Waste Guidelines, 2016 |
| India’s PET mandate: 30% rPET by 2025, 60% by 2028 | Ministry of Environment Notification, April 2025 |
| Sleeve elimination saves ~5,000 t plastic annually | Coca-Cola India Sustainability Report, June 2025 |
Daily Digest: Sustainability Updates
- June 20, 2025: PepsiCo India expands refillable-bottle program to 10 cities
- June 18, 2025: Karnataka issues state-wide ban on PVC labelling
- June 16, 2025: UNEP releases Global Plastics Treaty draft text
What Happens Next?
- Consumers: Look for the “Recycle Me Again” icon on bottles.
- Stakeholders: NGOs and waste-pickers to receive training on new label-sorting protocols.
- Competitors: Watch for similar phase-out commitments across other beverage brands.
