Coca-Cola again named as world’s worst plastic polluter
The world’s worst plastic polluters have been revealed, with Coca-Cola coming top of the list for the fifth year in a row.
The revelation follows the food and drinks company’s sponsorship of the COP27 United Nations (UN) climate change conference held in Egypt in November.
The research from Break Free From Plasticals saw Mondelez International, Unilever, Nestle and PepsiCo as being among the top five plastic polluters - found out through an audit which saw 200,000 citizen scientists in 87 countries analysing rubbish they gathered on beaches and elsewhere.
Coca-Cola’s ‘trashiversary’ sees them not only land at the top spot for five years in a row, they also doubled their waste footprint in the same time period.
Commenting on the findings, Von Hernandez, Global Coordinator for Break Free From Plastic, advised “instead of allowing companies like Coke to greenwash their image, governments need to compel polluters to invest in reuse and alternative product delivery systems that avoid the problem in the first place.”
Break Free From Plastic are using the findings from their 2022 annual audit to join calls for a Global Plastics Treaty with legally binding mechanisms and enforcement policies, arguing the audit is evidence companies can’t be trusted to set their own targets.
Hernandez noted “Governments worldwide now have the justification and opportunity to effectively address and reverse the plastic pollution crisis by coming up with a global plastics treaty.”
In March this year negotiations began at the United Nations Environment Agency for a framework to solve plastic pollution. But the talks have not come to fruition yet.
In 2018 the UN launched a New Plastics Economy Global Commitment with voluntary sign-up from consumer companies including the biggest plastic polluters. A progress report in 2022 said that targets set for 2025 will “almost certainly” not be met.
Global campaign organisation SumOfUs is raising funds to buy shares Coca-Cola and other major plastic polluters to have our say directly at their annual general meetings - and to push for resolutions to their boards forcing them to reduce their use of plastics.
SumOfUs has already bought shares in Apple, Facebook, Google and Monsanto, and has highlighted that it helped force Apple to adopt its first human rights policy.
Click here for more information on the SumOfUs campaign.
Related Articles
6th November 2022 - AMCS praises South Australia’s ambitious stance against single-use plastic
1st November 2022 - NSW plastic ban will divert 2.7 billion plastic items from oceans but balloons still need to be banned
24th October 2022 - Diving against debris ahead of NSW plastic ban
23rd October 2022 - Australian Retailers Association concerned by missed opportunity to establish national framework for single-use plastics
1st October 2022 - Single-use plastic cups for cold drinks banned in Western Australia from today
23rd September 2022 - NSW Government launches confronting new campaign ahead of plastic ban
9th September 2022 - European Commission move to restrict microplastic use set to impact infill used in synthetic turf systems
29th July 2022 - Looking to reduce plastic cup waste Adelaide Oval will now serve alcohol in cans
1st July 2022 - Green Music Australia among 17 organisations campaigning this Plastic Free July
29th June 2022 - Melia hotels launch environmental programs in Vietnam to repurpose plastic
16th May 2022 - Belgravia Leisure explains move away from single-use plastics
22nd March 2022 - Federal Government invests $60 million in recycling - but is it enough to stem the tide of plastic pollution?
3rd March 2022 - AMCS considers UN agreement as vital for tackling plastic pollution in Australia’s wildest places
14th September 2021 - Australian Government declares its support for legally binding global plastics treaty
31st August 2021 - Australian Marine Conservation Society welcomes Queensland’s ban on single-use plastic
19th February 2021 - Replas technology partnerships recycle most problematic plastics
8th January 2021 - ZOGGS advances sustainability mission with swimwear made from plastic bottles
5th February 2020 - adidas creates sustainable sporting field using 1.8 million plastic bottles
