Coca-Cola and Pepsi not doing enough to offeset plastic waste

According to a report from the Tearfund charity that analyses how both companies as well as many others including Unilever and Nestlé are behaving regarding plastic waste, Pepsi and Coca-Cola still have not committed to reductions by 2025.

The report said that Coca-Cola and Pepsi’s efforts fell short of what was needed from them to tackle their plastic pollution.

Unilever and Nestlé on the other hand scored highest in its commitments to reduce their plastic footprint in developing countries.

Dr Ruth Valerio, director of Tearfund, said: “The steps taken to date by Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are a far cry from the action necessary to tackle a crisis of this magnitude.”

“It is more important than ever that these companies urgently reduce their reliance on single-use plastic and switch to refillable and reusable packaging alternatives,” said Valerio.

According to The Guardian, Coca-Cola said it was aware the Tearfund report had raised serious concerns.

The company said: “We don’t want to see any of our packaging end up where it shouldn’t and, more specifically, our goal is to see it all recovered and recycled … We recognise that we have a responsibility to provide solutions that make plastic waste a thing of the past.

“As part of our World Without Waste goals, we have committed to collecting a bottle or can for each one sold by 2030, with the aim to ensure that every plastic bottle contains at least 50% recycled plastic by 2030.”

The report also called for companies to report by the end of 2020 the amount of single use plastics sold in every country and reduce by half by 2025 that amount and switch to refillables.

It also called for companies to make sure that there is one item recycled for every item sold in developing countries.