India's retail giant joins forces with Coca-Cola for PET collection and recycling

Coca-Cola India and Reliance Retail, India's largest retailer, have collaboratively launched a sustainability initiative titled 'Bhool Na Jana, Plastic Bottle Lautana'.

This initiative focuses on post-consumer PET collection through Reverse Vending Machines (RVMs) and collection bins strategically placed in Reliance Retail stores across Mumbai. Aligned with the Government's Swachh Bharat Mission and aiming for a circular economy, this pilot project kicked off in 36 Reliance Retail stores, including Smart Bazaar and Sahakari Bhandar stores in Mumbai and Delhi. The plan is to extend the initiative to 200 stores nationwide by 2025, with a target of collecting 5,00,000 PET bottles annually during the pilot phase.

The inaugural event took place at Reliance Retail's Smart Bazaar store in Santa Cruz and was graced by the presence of Kazi Irfan, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for Solid Waste Management at Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

As part of this initiative, strategically positioned RVMs and collection bins provide consumers with a convenient method to deposit used PET bottles. In return, consumers receive compelling discounts on Coca-Cola India products. Collected PET bottles will be responsibly managed through recycling by Reliance Industries (RIL), a pioneer in polyester and plastics recycling. By actively engaging consumers in responsible waste management, this initiative aims to transition away from the traditional linear economy model, contributing to a more sustainable future.

Mr. Damodar Mall, Chief Executive Officer, Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail Ltd, said: Indian families have had the habit of not trashing milk pouches, plastic bottles, even newspapers, daily. We clean, collect them, and hand them over to raddiwalas, who in today's world are the unique front-end army of recyclers. SmartBazaar, as a modern retailer continues to encourage this habit, with modern methods. Our pilot with our store shoppers, with the support of Coca-Cola India and Reliance Industries, is one such attempt we plan to pursue with our wide network of stores.