A New Requirement For A Tethered Design For Plastic Caps On Drinks Bottles Officially Comes Into Force in The EU On Wednesday, But What’s Behind The Move?

Cracking open a cold coke on a hot day is one of life's great pleasures, but from now on it will be a different experience.

That's because plastic bottles in Europe are changing as a result of new EU rules.<br>

You may have already come across the new plastic caps that are tethered to the bottle.<br>

f not, you will do soon as they are mandatory starting from this Wednesday across the EU.<br>

Here's why it's happening and what people think about the new design.<br>

What is the new plastic bottle cap design?<br>

The new design is quite straightforward. Instead of the caps we are used to that screw fully off, there are extra strips of plastic connecting the cap to the bottle.<br>

Coca-Cola has been one of the first to embrace the change as they have rolled the design out across Europe in the last year or so.<br>

"This small change has the potential to have a big impact, ensuring that consumers recycle our bottles, and no cap gets left behind," Coca-Cola Ireland manager Agnese Filippi said ahead of the introduction.<br>

What do consumers think about the new bottle caps?<br>

Coca-Cola and other major drinks companies were not always so open to changing their bottle design.<br>

When the rules requiring the change were first announced by the EU in 2018, they hit back claiming it would lead to an increase in plastic and come at a cost to manufacturers.<br>

Now that it's been rolling out across the continent some consumers are also upset with the new design.<br>

They have taken to social media to complain about the cap hitting them in the face as they drink and making drinks more difficult to pour.<br>