One of the nation's most loved drinks brands, Ribena, is celebrating over 10 years of making its bottles from 100% recycled plastic, also known as rPET.

The news coincides with the launch of a new government strategy on waste announced today.

Ribena's use of rPET has prevented 40,000 tonnes of additional plastic from being produced - the equivalent weight of around 30,000 Ford Fiestas.

Ribena, which has a plant in Coleford, was the first UK soft drink brand to use 100% recycled plastic bottles - a move that was a major step forward for sustainable packaging. The brand is now introducing additional ways to make its packaging even more sustainable.

It has just finished a successful trial of a new light weighted 500ml bottle, which will save 325 tonnes of plastic annually when it hits the shelves from January.

The brand is also moving to ensure that the trays Ribena squash concentrate bottles are delivered on are made from 100% recycled cardboard. This follows an earlier move to make the trays used for Ribena cartons from 100% recycled paperboard. Together these changes should save 406 tonnes of new board from being produced each year.

Lucozade Ribena Suntory is also calling on consumers to push their straws back into Ribena cartons, making the straws easier to collect and recycle. To promote the call to action, the company has taken to social media, using eye-catching animations on Twitter and Instagram and asking everyone to do their bit.

Ribena's continued innovation is one of many ways that Lucozade Ribena Suntory is reinventing its relationship with single-use plastics. Most recently, the company signed WRAP's UK Plastics Pact. As a signatory, it has agreed to eliminate problematic or unnecessary single-use plastic packaging and ensure 100% of its plastic packaging is reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.

Michelle Norman, director of external affairs and sustainability at Lucozade Ribena Suntory said: "We all have a role to play in reducing, reusing and recycling plastic, and Lucozade Ribena Suntory is on a mission to be as sustainable a business as possible. We are extremely proud that we've been reusing 100% recycled plastic in our bottles for a decade and we are committed to continued innovation."

Peter Maddox, director at WRAP said : "As a founding member of The UK Plastics Pact it is fantastic to see Lucozade Ribena Suntory taking proactive steps to minimise its impact on the environment. As a brand, Ribena changed its bottles to 100% rPET more than ten years ago, and it is great to see the company continue to innovate."