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Would you sign a petition to help reduce 2.9 million tons of plastic waste yearly? Coca Cola is one of the world’s top producers of plastic waste, yet the company argues that their plastic packaging is what their customers want. So, how can we show them that we don’t?
Every minute, 1 million plastic bottles are purchased. These were the findings from a 2017 report by Euromonitor International published in the The Guardian. Out of those 1 million bottles, Coca Cola produces 200,000 of them and is respsonsible for 2.9 million tons of plastic waste yearly. And, most of them accumulate as plastic waste. In 2019, a worldwide cleanup where 475,000 pieces of plastic waste were collected by Break Free From Plastic, a global movement against single-use plastic, Coca Cola was the #1 polluter of plastic waste with 63% of the plastic packaging coming from the brand. In fact the company has remained at the top of Break Free From Plastic’s list of most polluting corporations for 4 consecutive years.
In response to data such as this, the company has pledged to make 100% of its packaging recycable by 2025 and to use 50% recycled plastic in its packaging by 2030. Yet, while the heritage drinks company acknowledges its contribution to single-use plastic waste, the company’s sustainable goals have been labeled as greenwashing or not enough by environmental groups. The reason being that the production and waste cycle of their plastic packaigng hasn’t been addressed. Many environmentalists argue that the company must do a better job at providing sustainable alternatives to their current single-use plastic packaging.
It’s not surprising to see the same big brands as the world’s top plastic polluters for four years in a row. These companies claim to be addressing the plastic crisis, yet they continue to invest in false solutions while teaming up with oil companies to produce even more plastic. To stop this mess and combat climate change, multinationals like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Unilever must end their addiction to single-use plastic packaging and move away from fossil fuels.”
Abigail Aguilar, Plastics Campaign Regional Coordinator, Greenpeace Southeast Asia
According to Coca Cola’s Head of Sustainability, Bea Perez, it’s the customer’s choice to continue using single-use plastic bottles. Plastic is lightweight and offers an easy-to-seal cap. So, instead of joining the ranks of companies like Evian, Amerian Airlines, Guinness, Starbucks, Marriott, WholeFoods, etc. the brand will continue producing its 3 trillion tons of plastic packaging every year. “Business won’t be in business if we don’t accommodate consumers,” Perez said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Apparently, Coca-Cola customers want plastic.
We cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels, including the significant amount of fossil fuels that are or will be turned into plastic. FMCGs need to reveal the extent of their plastic footprint, reduce it significantly by setting and implementing ambitious targets, and reinvent their packaging to be reusable and plastic-free. Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Unilever should be leading the way in finding real solutions.
Emma Priestland, Global Corporate Campaigns Coordinator, Break Free From Plastic
Perez has reiterated the 10-year plan to use 50% recycled materials in all Coca-Cola packaging. While, that’s a nice step in the right direction, it’s far behind Coca Cola Australia which states on their site that 70% of their packaging will come from recycled materials by the end of 2020. The website also states that for every bottle or can sold, they will ” help collect and recycle a bottle… by 2030″. It’s not entirely clear what ‘help’ means in this case. Yet, the site did go on to talk about investing in recycling plastic through a deposit/ refund.
Planning to recycle by 2030 won’t put a big dent on the trillions of single-use plastic produced yearly by Coca Cola. Several nonprofits and green organizations are stepping up to the plate to petition Coca Cola to listen to its customers and take a bigger stance against plastic pollution. There are plenty of customers who want to ban single-use plastic and are okay with finding greener alternatives that can be done today. If you agree, visit the sites below and add your name to say ‘no’ to Coca Cola’s single-use plastic.
Petitions For Coca Cola To Ditch Single-Use Plastic Bottles
Tell Coca Cola you DO NOT want their plastic bottles!
At Davos 2020, Coca-Cola’s head of sustainability, Bea Perez, said that Coca-Cola will not stop producing single-use plastics because consumers “still want them.” She went on to say that it would alienate customers and impact Coca-Cola’s bottom line. “Customers like them because they reseal and are lightweight.”
Needless to say, this is a disheartening thing to hear from the person in charge of sustainability at one of the largest companies in the world. Coca-Cola is one of the worst contributors to plastic pollution, producing about three million tons of plastic packaging a year – equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute.
Care 2 Petitions Coca Cola your plastic waste is choking us.
That’s not just water you are drinking. When you buy water in a plastic bottle you are likely guzzling down a few hundred particles of microplastics along with it.
According to a new study, in an analysis of 259 bottles of water, from various brands and countries, scientists found an average of 325 plastic particles for every liter of water being sold. That’s roughly twice as many plastic particles that were found in water directly from the tap.
When asked for their response to the study, Coca-Cola replied that due to the abundance of plastics in the environment, plastic fibers “may be found at minute levels even in highly treated products.“
Sum Of Us Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage company is fighting a worldwide battle against recycling.
When a state government in Australia considered creating a 10-cent refund on recycling plastic bottles, Coca-Cola poured money into a misleading campaign to oppose the plan. Then, when common sense won out and the plan passed, Coke immediately sued the government to stop the program.
Coca-Cola has run similar campaigns all over the world, and it won’t stop until we prove once and for all that consumers won’t stand for this madness.
Tell Coca-Cola to drop this ridiculous lawsuit and stop trying to stop recycling programs.
Greenpeace: Gemand big corporations do their part to end plastic pollution.
Our world is choking on plastic. The equivalent of one garbage truck of plastic enters into our seas every minute, every day, all year long. Without significant intervention, this amount is expected to increase to the equivalent of four truckloads by 2050. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — a soupy area in the middle of the Pacific Ocean where plastic fragments accumulate — currently spans an area two times the size of Texas.
The plastic pollution crisis is massive, and beach cleanups and recycling are simply not enough. We need real solutions now!