Coca-Cola (KO) Tackles Plastic Pollution Problem with Reverse Vending Machines

Business Insider

27-05-2025

Coca-Cola (KO) has developed a new reverse vending machine that will hopefully take some heat off the soda company as the world's biggest plastic polluter. These new vending machines rolled out in India and they allow consumers to turn in their used Coca-Cola bottles and cans. Doing so stores and compacts the products before they are shipped off for recycling.
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Coca-Cola understands that consumers need incentives to recycle their bottles. To encourage this, the company has introduced a loyalty app for using the reverse vending machines. Consumers who do so can build up loyalty points, which can be redeemed for discounts when purchasing Coca-Cola products.
Rajesh Ayapilla, a senior director at Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said, 'By introducing reverse vending machines in Puri, we're enabling people to take simple yet meaningful steps to make recycling part of everyday behavior.'
Recent KO Stock Analyst Coverage
Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein updated his coverage of KO stock last week. He reiterated a Buy rating and $80 price target for the shares, representing a potential 11.47% upside.
Consumer interest in Coca-Cola remains high, as the drink is the favorite of U.S. consumers. Coca-Cola also has the third-most popular drink with Sprite. It has sought to continue this dominance with new flavors, such as Sprite+Tea, and has been helped by viral marketing campaigns and trends, such as allegedly using Coca-Cola to cure a migraine.
Is KO Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts' consensus rating for Coca-Cola is Strong Buy, based on 15 Buy and one Hold ratings over the last three months. With that comes an average KO stock price target of $79.33, representing a potential 10.53% upside for the shares.