The freestanding units are made of easily recyclable corrugated cardboard and designed to communicate sustainability to shoppers. In an industry first, the company is making inroads into developing a closed-loop retail equipment program whereby they create recyclable in-store merchandise racks and then recover, reuse and/or recycle the racks.
"Coca-Cola recovered 400 million pounds of cans and bottles in the U.S. in 2010, yet we want to do more," said Gary Wygant, Vice President, Business Development, Coca-Cola Recycling. "By creating a 100 percent recyclable merchandise display rack, Coca-Cola is asking grocery and convenience stores to join our sustainability efforts by returning or recycling our racks, just like we ask consumers to return or recycle our product packaging."
Pending current tests being successful, the new racks should be available in late 2011. They’re the first in a series of new merchandise racks being developed by Coca-Cola. There’s also a design for a rack made entirely from recycled PET plastic in the pipeline.
"Sustainability is core to our business, so we want to demonstrate this commitment to our customers and consumers at every level," said Bruce Karas, Director, Sustainability and Environment, Coca-Cola Refreshments. "These new racks are a great example of how we can find innovative ways to make our equipment both sustainable and part of the shopping experience. With the GIVE IT BACK rack, we're helping people feel good about their purchasing decisions as we work toward our overall sustainability goals."
Coca-Cola demonstrates a clear commitment to sustainability that goes much further in addressing issues of waste than the feel good nature of their Pop-Up in Israel conveys. If we’re to have a long and happy future on this planet, then we have much work to do in diverting our reliance on the rapidly depleting store of natural resources we draw from, towards recycling what we already have.
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