Coca-Cola Zero and Sprite on display at Z100's Jingle Ball 2015 - Z100's Artist Gift Lounge at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Dec. 11, 2015.
Coca-Cola Zero and Sprite on display at Z100's Jingle Ball 2015 - Z100's Artist Gift Lounge at Madison Square Garden in New York City, Dec. 11, 2015.

Coca-Cola announced on Wednesday that it is changing the color of its Sprite bottles from green to clear, as the company moves towards becoming more conscious of its recycling efforts.

The current green bottle contains green polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which can't be efficiently recycled into new bottles. The change will be seen everywhere on Aug. 1.

“Although green PET is recyclable, the recycled material is more often converted into single-use items like clothing and carpeting that cannot be recycled into new PET bottles,” Coca-Cola explained in a statement.

“During the sorting process, green and other colored PET is separated from clear material to avoid discoloring recycled food-grade packaging required to make new PET bottles," Coca-Cola added.

Sprite bottles went with their iconic green color for more than 60 years. The green bottle could be recognized as “Sprite” by consumers, as it competed against lemon-lime soda 7 Up. Coca-Cola’s other beverages with green bottles will also be changed to clear including Fresca, Seagram's and Mello Yello.

"Taking colors out of bottles improves the quality of the recycled material," Julian Ochoa, CEO of R3CYCLE, a plastic group helping Coca-Cola improve its recycling, said in the statement.

"When recycled, clear PET Sprite bottles can be remade into bottles, helping drive a circular economy for plastic,” Ochoa said.

Coca-Cola said that the change would provide a "consistent look and voice around the world.”