ATHENS, Greece, Jul. 18 - The amount of PET plastic bottles collected for recycling across Europe last year rose by more than six per cent to reach almost 1.5 million tonnes, according to a report commissioned by two industry bodies.

European PET container body Petcore and plastics recycling association EuPR said European post-sorting PET collection increased to 1.45 million tonnes in 2010, an increase of 6.5 per cent compared to 2009.

Coca-Cola Hellenic has pioneered the establishment of packaging recovery organisations that collect, recycle and recover packaging waste in 19 countries in which it operates. In 2010, an estimated 79,000 tonnes of PET bottles which contained Coca-Cola Hellenic products were recovered.

The ultimate goal for Coca-Cola Hellenic, which last year invested almost £42 million in recovering PET bottles, is to close the recycling loop by converting used packages into new. In Austria, the Company co-owns a bottle-to-bottle recycling plant, which recycles up to 570 million bottles each year.

Sabine Strnad, Resources Recovery Manager at Coca-Cola Hellenic, said: "It is very rewarding to see that our efforts to recover used packaging are showing results. At the same time we are striving to ensure that the industry organisations in which we are active members are as effective as possible.

"We are committed to continuing our close cooperation with governments and the industry in order to promote collection mechanisms, technological innovations and sorting techniques. Our ultimate aim is to create truly sustainable closed loop packaging solutions."

Coca-Cola Hellenic supports efforts by industry associations to work towards a global standard of producer responsibility. More information about Coca-Cola Hellenic's sustainability activities can be found in the Company's online CSR report.

About Coca-Cola Hellenic
Coca-Cola Hellenic is the second-largest bottler of products of The Coca-Cola Company in terms of volume with sales of more than 2 billion unit cases. It has broad geographic footprint with operations in 28 countries serving a population of more than 560 million people. Coca-Cola Hellenic offers a diverse range of ready-to-drink non-alcoholic beverages in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, tea and coffee categories. Coca-Cola Hellenic is committed to promoting sustainable development in order to create value for its business and for society. This includes providing products that meet the beverage needs of consumers, fostering an open and inclusive work environment, conducting our business in ways that protect and preserve the environment and contribute to the socio-economic development of our local communities.

Coca-Cola Hellenic's shares are listed on the Athens Exchange (ATHEX: EEEK), with a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: CCB). Coca-Cola Hellenic’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CCH). Coca-Cola Hellenic is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability and FTSE4Good Indexes. For more information, please visit coca-colahellenic.com