• by Erik Oster , October 19, 2023

Coca-Cola’s latest marketing campaign combines an emphasis on the company’s recycled plastic bottle and the soft drink’s perfect food companion.

“Toss In, Take Out” features a traveling restaurant takeover offering pizza with a catch: You can’t buy a slice with money, only in exchange for an empty plastic bottle to be recycled. The initiative highlights Coca-Cola’s expanding distribution of 20-ounce bottles made from 100% recycled plastic (if you don’t count the cap and label) in its Coca-Cola Trademark brands (Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, etc.) to Atlanta, Chicago, and the Pacific Northwest. “Toss In, Take Out” will be traveling to 11 major markets across the U.S., including Atlanta, Chicago, and New York City.

New Yorkers can mark their calendars for Oct. 24, when Coca-Cola will make its first stop at the renowned Bleecker Street Pizza. “Toss In, Take Out” will then make its way down south to Atlanta’s Goodfellas Pizza & Wings on Nov. 2. Next stop is Chicago, for the divisive deep-dish style at Lou Malnati's Pizzeria on Nov. 7. Naturally, the pizza also comes with a free Coke (in the new recycled plastic bottles).

Coca-Coca says it anticipates saving an estimated 37 million pounds of new plastic annually from the bottle program -- which it says is equivalent to around 890 million bottles. It also claims the switch will reduce its carbon footprint by around 39,000 tons annually. The focus is part of a broader program of purported commitments to sustainability from the company, which says it views the transition as advancing its progress toward its “World Without Waste” goal of using at least 50% recycled material in its bottles and cans globally by 2030.

"The expanded availability of Coca-Cola Trademark products in 100% recycled plastic bottles advances our ambitions to reduce virgin plastic and drive a circular economy for our packaging, the fundamental principle behind our sustainable packaging initiative, World Without Waste," Kurt Ritter, vice president and general manager, sustainability, The Coca-Cola Company North America, said in a releae. "Our ability to use 100% recycled plastic is a direct result of consumers' sustained commitment to recycling. In the future, we plan to bring this design innovation to more brands and markets."