A recent study identifies Coca-Cola as the world’s biggest contributor to branded plastic pollution. The study analyzed brand audits of plastic waste collected in 84 countries over five years. Moreover, Cola left 11 percent of plastic waste, PepsiCo is a little behind with 5 percent, and Nestle and Danone tied at 3% each.
A recent study found that The Coca-Cola Company and 55 other brands are responsible for more than half of the plastic waste found worldwide. This is a big deal because a whopping 400 million tons of plastic waste is created every year, and most of it doesn’t break down or disappear. The research involved over 100,000 volunteers who cataloged more than 1.8 million pieces of plastic waste.
Imagine 2,000 garbage trucks filled with plastic being dumped into oceans, rivers, and lakes every single day! Plus, people are accidentally eating tiny plastic particles called nanoplastics more than we realize.
The study showed that the more plastic a company makes. The more plastic waste ends up in the environment with their brand names on it. Food and drink companies, like Coca-Cola, are some of the biggest culprits.
The top five brands causing this mess are Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone, and Altria. Together, they make up almost a quarter of all the plastic pollution found. Cola is responsible for a whopping 11 percent, PepsiCo is in the second spot with 5 percent and Nestlé and Danone are tied for 3 percent.
Future Plannings
Coca-Cola says they’re trying to do better. By 2025, they want all their packaging to be recyclable everywhere. By 2030, they aim to use more recycled material. But they admit they can’t fix this problem alone.
The researchers behind the study say that if big companies stop making so much single-use plastic stuff. It would also help cut down on global plastic pollution.
Right now, people are talking about making a worldwide agreement to fight plastic pollution, and Canada is leading the way in these discussions. This study looked at data from 84 countries over four years to figure out which brands are causing the most plastic mess in our environment.
This is a big problem because plastic pollution can harm animals and pollute our oceans. Scientists are calling for companies to find ways to use less plastic or make plastic that doesn’t litter our world.
