MILLIONS of plastic bottles that come out of the Lucozade Ribena factory in Coleford will be recycled...back into bottles.

A £1.6 million project will make it tbe UK’s largest brand to have bottles that both 100 per cent recycled and recyclable back into bottles.

Currently, only 18 per cent of PET plastic – which is widely used to make food and drink containers – is fully recycled back into bottles.

More than 202 tonnes of plastic a year will be saved thanks to the move by Suntory Beverage and Food Great Britain and Ireland (SBF GB&I) which owns the Ribena brand.

The new 500ml bottle design – which will be introduced from January – will also mean that less plastic is needed to make each one.

A re-design of the label on Britain’s number one juice drink will also ensure more bottles get recycled.

Although Ribena’s bottles have always been recyclable, the sleeve’s dark colour and length could stop sensors at some recycling plants from identifying the clear, recyclable bottle underneath.

Switching the design of the label involved extensive product testing and investment to ensure that the drink would not be affected by the extra exposure to light while on shelf.

Thanks to the new design, consumers can leave the label and cap on the bottle to recycle it.

It will also be applied to other major drinks made by SBF GB&I in the next 18 months, ultimately saving 1,100 tonnes of plastic each year.

The re-design, which took two years to complete, is part of a project to make the company’s plastic packaging completely sustainable by 2030.

Carol Robert, chief operating officer at SBF GB&I, said: “Making sure that our bottles can be easily recycled and turned back into bottles is an important part of our journey towards full circularity and net zero emissions.

“Simplifying the packaging of our drinks to help consumers to recycle is just one of our many investments in making our soft drinks more sustainable.

“From climate-change resilient blackcurrants to promoting biodiversity on our farms, we’re working to make Ribena more sustainable from bush to bottle.”

Dr Simon Ellin, chief executive of The Recycling Association, said, “We have been highly critical of manufacturers who have not taken responsibility for the full life cycle and recyclability of their products.

“Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I have been proactive in this space and have developed a fantastic new bottle for their Ribena brand.

“Not only is the bottle made from 100 per cent recycled plastic but the label has been minimised to ensure the bottle can be easily identified, sorted and recycled using standard industry technology.

“SBF GB&I are doing the right thing and other manufacturers should follow their lead.”

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said: “I am very pleased to see SBF GB&I taking this important step to ensure that all their Ribena bottles are fully recyclable and made from 100 per cent recycled plastic.

“It is this kind of innovation that we want to see to create a more circular economy for our waste and resources, with more materials being recycled and reused and less being consigned to landfill or incineration.