January 14, 2009

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) -- Coca-Cola Co. has opened the world's
largest plastic bottle-to-bottle recycling plant in South Carolina.
The Atlanta-based beverage maker said Wednesday it wants to
recycle and reuse all its bottles and cans in the U.S.
At full capacity, the plant that was built with United Resource
Recovery Corp. of Spartanburg will employ about 100 people to
produce 100 million pounds of recycled plastic for reuse as bottles
each year. That's the equivalent of nearly 2 billion 20-ounce Coke
bottles.
Coca-Cola invested $60 million in a series of recycling
initiatives including building the plant. The company also unveiled
a new marketing focus called "Give it Back" to encourage
recycling. The company says making bottles from recycled material
uses less energy and reduces waste.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)