Oceana released the following statement from Dana Miller, Ph.D., Oceana Director of Strategic Initiatives:
“This new report makes it clear that Coca-Cola’s recycling pledges are not stopping the ever-growing tsunami of plastic that is overwhelming our oceans. How can the company use an additional 500 million pounds of plastic in one year and at the same time consider itself to be addressing its plastic problem? Bottles with recycled content will still be thrown away, sent to landfills, burned, or littered. Some of these bottles will end up in our oceans.
In 2022, an Oceana analysis found that leading soft drink companies’ recycled content pledges have little impact on reducing the flow of plastic into the world’s waterways and seas. This is because recycled content pledges do not change consumer behaviors or improve bottle collection rates.
The best way for Coca-Cola to address its plastic problem is to increase refillable bottles – which can be used up to 25 times (avoiding 24 single-use bottles) if made of plastic, and up to 50 times (avoiding 49 single-use bottles) if made of glass. Just a 10% increase in refillable bottles in all coastal countries could reduce marine plastic bottle pollution by 22%. If Coca-Cola is serious about reducing plastic pollution, it needs to stop promoting single-use, throwaway plastic bottles and instead deliver on its commitment to sell 25% of its drinks in refillable and reusable bottles and containers. Well-designed refillable bottle systems are, according to the company’s own bottlers, better for the climate and switching to reusable packaging is one of the most effective ways that Coca-Cola can reduce its carbon footprint, as the company itself acknowledged.
