Aaron Colonnese
Former Content Creator, Editorial & Creative Team, The Public Interest Network
The world’s top plastic polluter — for the third year in a row — is missing a huge opportunity to reduce its waste footprint.
Former Content Creator, Editorial & Creative Team, The Public Interest Network
Out of nearly 350,000 pieces of plastic litter collected across 55 countries in a study last year, more waste came from Coca-Cola than any other brand.
From overflowing landfills to littered parks and beaches, the consequences of plastic pollution are all around us. But major plastic producers such as Coca-Cola have the power to reduce plastic in their products and take responsibility for the waste their products create.
So we’re calling on Coca-Cola to set an example for the rest of the industry and break free from harmful, unnecessary single-use plastics.
We want Coca-Cola to step up its game on plastic waste
For the third year in a row, the company has been named the world’s top plastic polluter — worse than the next two biggest polluters combined.
Companies such as Coca-Cola can help address our out-of-control plastic waste problem by taking responsibility for the entire life cycle of their products. And that starts with using less plastic in the first place — there’s no need for any company to be making such a huge contribution to our plastic waste crisis when there are so many viable alternatives to single-use plastics, such as glass, aluminum, biodegradable products or 100 percent post-consumer material.
Yet Coca-Cola announced earlier this year it will continue to use plastic bottles. And its waste-reduction efforts are focused on recycling programs, even though that’s been shown to not be enough to effectively tackle plastic waste — up to 91 percent of all the plastic waste ever made has not been recycled. That’s why we’re calling on Coca-Cola to take a new path forward and break free from the single-use plastics that are choking our communities and environment.
Stemming the tide of plastic pollution means turning off the tap
Nearly 100,000 tons of plastic — enough to fill one and a half football stadiums — are thrown away each day in the U.S. alone. And until now, the companies that make and sell all of this plastic have borne little to no responsibility for the mess.
But major brands such as Coca-Cola have the power to spark industry-wide change and help move toward a system that rewards companies for creating reusable, repairable and resilient products and reducing waste.
We know that when enough consumers speak up, these companies clean up their act. For example, following consumer outcry, grocery giant Kroger committed to phasing out plastic bags in its stores across the country by 2025.
With your voice, you can help convince Coca-Cola to take bold steps toward reducing its plastic waste. Urge Coca-Cola: Be a leader in moving our country beyond plastic.
Sign our petition
Former Content Creator, Editorial & Creative Team, The Public Interest Network