Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone agree to change bottle recycling labels

Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Danone have agreed to change the recycling claims they print on plastic bottles, ESG Today reported.

The commitments close dialogues with the European Commission and the Consumer Protection Cooperation network that followed a November 2023 greenwashing alert from BEUC. The three did not finish together: Coca-Cola concluded its dialogue in June 2025, Nestlé in February 2026 and Danone this month, roughly 16 months after Coca-Cola.

A bottle that read "I am a bottle made from 100% recycled plastic" will instead say "This bottle is 100% recycled. Excluding cap and label." The phrase "Recycle me again" becomes "Recycle me"; the stated aim is to avoid leaving consumers with the impression that the bottle had already been recycled before purchase and would become another bottle.

BEUC's November 2023 alert, issued with member organisations in 13 countries, singled out "100% recyclable" claims. Whether a bottle is actually recycled depends on the infrastructure available to collect it, the effectiveness of sorting and the availability of suitable reprocessing, BEUC said. It raised similar objections to "100% recycled", noting that caps and most labels are not made of recycled material and that virgin plastic is often added, and it flagged the use of green imagery.

The companies pledged that the overall impression of their labels and marketing would not mislead about the inherent environmental benefits of plastic bottles, and that campaigns on their websites and social media channels would reflect the new wording.

"Consumers need to be able to trust companies' environmental claims," BEUC director general Agustín Reyna said. Michael McGrath, the EU Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, said European consumers deserve accurate information about environmental practices and welcomed the companies' commitment.

The dialogues produced commitments, not penalties, and the Commission's statement reports no finding against any of the three. Alongside that process sits the bloc's statutory green-claims regime: the EmpCo directive took effect on 27 September, carrying penalties of up to 4% of turnover and an audit mandate, with the compliance cost tracking claims made rather than revenue earned.

National consumer protection authorities will monitor implementation and may take enforcement measures if the companies fail to comply, according to the Commission.