Keurig Dr Pepper now at 2% PCR in plastic packaging

A major brand owner has significantly increased its recycled plastic use in recent years. But the company still has a ways to go to hit its 2025 goal of 25% post-consumer resin use.

Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), a beverage giant that formed after a 2018 merger between Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group, on June 30 released its annual corporate responsibility report, which includes details on the company’s recycled plastic use, recyclability goals and virgin plastic reduction.

KDP used 2% post-consumer resin across its plastic packaging portfolio in 2020, up from 0.4% in 2019 and 0.3% in 2018, the report states.

The brand owner recently transitioned bottles for its Core Hydration product to 100% RPET. It also began using 100% RPET in 16-ounce bottles for Snapple and 500-milliliter bottles for Aguafiel Natural, the company wrote in the report.

“This transition was completed by mid-year 2021 and is expected to eliminate approximately 47.5 million pounds of virgin plastic used by KDP annually,” the company wrote.

The company also uses post-consumer resin in its coffee makers. The K-Mini brewer in matte black uses 25% post-consumer resin and the K-Mini plus brewer in matte black uses 50% post-consumer resin, according to the report.

The recycled plastic use is just one component of the company’s recycled material consumption. Taking into account all materials, in 2020, KDP averaged 22% recycled content across its packaging portfolio, up from 20% in both 2019 and 2018. The company’s overall recycled content goal (incorporating all material types)is 30% by 2025.

KDP also has a 20% virgin plastic reduction target by 2025, from a 2019 baseline year. In 2020, the company achieved 1% reduction, the report states.

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