It's the cocktail taking young drinkers by storm - but the packaging is 'unrecyclable'

Image caption, Georgia enjoyed a Lotta Colada on her way to watch Harry Styles By Rowenna Hoskin BBC Wales Published 1 hour ago Cleaning up after pre-drinks, Aédén Rooney puts his empty BuzzBallz in the recycling. "It's plastic and metal, so I'd just assume it's recyclable," he said. The company behind the bright, pre-mixed cocktails that have taken Gen Z by storm said they were recyclable on its website, but experts say this is not true. BuzzBallz cannot be recycled as the PET plastic ball cannot be separated from the aluminium lid, global environmental action body WRAP said. "It's greenwashing. I'm shocked," Aédén said. BuzzBallz blamed a website error for claiming they were recyclable via Terracycle, a US-only scheme, but did not comment on its now-deleted FAQ that said they were recyclable where UK councils allow. Image source, Aédén Rooney Image caption, Aédén Rooney said he drinks about three BuzzBallz a week during term time Rooney, 21, is a student at Cardiff University and drinks at least two to three BuzzBallz every week during term time. He's far from the only one. BuzzBallz was named the fastest-growing alcohol brand in The Grocer's Britain's Biggest Alcohol Brands 2026 ranking. Rooney thinks they are popular because they are "strong, they're cheap for the amount of alcohol and the price you're paying - it's a no brainer". Image caption, BuzzBallz were created by school teacher Merrilee Kick but bought by Sazerac in 2024 BuzzBallz was founded by teacher Merrilee Kick, but was bought by the Sazerac Company, whose CEO is Jake Wenz, in 2024. BuzzBallz's UK's mission statement, which was deleted after the BBC contacted the company about this story, said it "loves our planet as much as we love a good cocktail" and partnered with TerraCycle to ensure its packaging gets recycled. However, TerraCycle, which involves consumers collecting packaging and sending it to be recycled, only runs the BuzzBallz scheme in the United States. BuzzBallz's UK FAQs, now also deleted, stated: "Yes, our packaging is recyclable. Please recycle your empties where local facilities allow." But no local facilities anywhere in the UK allow BuzzBallz to be recycled, said Adam Herriott, the head of packaging at WRAP. "They're a mix of two very recyclable materials that put together makes an unrecyclable format. "No local authorities will accept these at the kerbside. "If they end up at a sorting facility, they could end up contaminating the plastic stream because of the metals in there and that could be very problematic for plastics recyclers that get into the machinery." But why should people care if their drink packaging is not recyclable? Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Recycling is taken to local Material Recovery Facilities to sort "Plastic is a finite resource, and it's traditionally from a fossil-derived product as well, it comes from oil," Herriott said. Recycling aluminium, which can be done infinitely, means less is being extracted from baux