Coca-Cola may be the most popular brand of soda water, but it has also become the world's largest source of plastic pollution for the second consecutive year.
A new audit found that the amount of plastic waste produced by this carbonated beverage company is more than the three pollution sources behind it combined many.
Previously leaked documents showed that Coca-Cola had tried to cancel the deposit and refund plan for plastic bottles to avoid profit damage.
The above-mentioned global audit was carried out by the global event organization Break Free From Plastics. In September, the organization hired more than 72,000 volunteers to search for plastic products on beaches, waterways and streets around the world, including bottles, cups, packaging, Bags and waste products. During
, volunteers discovered 50 different types of plastics from nearly 8,000 different brands. A total of 475,000 pieces of rubbish were collected, of which 11,732 belonged to The Coca-Cola Company, followed by Nestlé, Pepsi and Mondelez.
Coca-Cola causes the most plastic waste in Africa and Europe, and the second most in Asia and South America. However, the largest plastic pollution company in North America is Nestlé, followed by Solo, which produces the iconic red cup, and Starbucks in third place.
The continued dependence of these companies on single-use plastic packaging means that they must continue to produce single-use plastics for the environment.
Break Free From Plastic's nearly 1,800 member organizations call on companies to immediately reduce the production of disposable plastic products, find innovative solutions, and focus on alternative delivery systems that do not cause pollution.
Regarding the latest audit results, The Coca-Cola Company responded in an email, “Anytime our packaging will be thrown into our ocean, or anywhere that does not belong to us, this is all for us. It is unacceptable. We are working with other organizations to try to solve this important global problem, on the one hand to help prevent plastic waste from entering the ocean, on the other hand to help clean up the existing pollution.”
The company also said , Is investing in recycled bottles and cans in every market. However, the leaked documents in 2017 show that the actual situation is quite the opposite.
These documents show evidence that the Coca-Cola Company "fighted back" against Britain’s proposal to promote recycling, even though it has complied with such recycling programs in other countries. The company was trying to cancel the deposit and refund program for plastic bottles to avoid loss of profits.
Greenpeace also revealed Coca-Cola’s lobbying activities. Its senior marine activist Louise Edge said, “The plan Coca-Cola is promoting to reduce plastic pollution is quite vague.”
But those leaked documents indicate that Coca-Cola’s real plan is to continue to produce millions of single-use plastic bottles and is not responsible for the pollution they cause.
