Coke accounts for 10% of branded plastic pollution

Soft drink manufacturers Coca-Cola and Pepsi account for a sixth of the world’s branded plastic waste and more than half can be traced to just 56 companies according to a global study.

The 5-year study spanning more than 1,500 audits across 84 countries is part of a global citizen science collaboration, involving audit submissions from 200,000 participants.

But while half of the world’s plastic can be traced to 56 companies, led by large, fast-moving consumer goods makers, half cannot be identified, prompting calls by the expert group for compulsory branding of plastic products for identification.

Analysis of the collection data also enabled the research group to determine a “production = pollution” relationship. In effect meaning for every 1% of increased plastic production, a proportionate 1% increase in plastic pollution could be expected.

“What we know from this work is that there are key multinational companies that comprise nearly a quarter of those fast-moving consumer goods that are found in the environment, that are branded,” Hardesty tells Cosmos.

Leading producers of plastic waste are Coca-Cola (11% of identified waste) PepsiCo (5%), Nestlé (3%), Danone (3%), and products from tobacco companies Altria and Philip Morris International (2%).

Hardesty expects much of the unidentifiable plastic would have originated from the leading waste producers, such is the duration the waste has persisted in the environment.

The research group makes a handful of recommendations, including extending research to countries yet to be audited as well as tracing unbranded items. They also propose an international standard requiring packing manufacturers and product makers to adequately brand plastic for identification.

They also suggest actions to cut back plastic production – either voluntarily by manufacturers or mandated by governments – could positively address the issue.

Reducing plastic production is seen as the key measure to reduce environmental waste as opposed to recycling programs. Current figures suggest around 10% of all the world’s plastic waste is recycled.

Efforts to repurpose or reduce plastic waste have been introduced around the world, which Hardesty says helped treat plastic as a good with value rather than as a conveniently disposable item.

“I’d actually say we want to treat plastic as a commodity rather than as waste and when we change our relationship with it, then we will reduce not only primary production, but we’re much more likely to pay the true cost of plastics,” she says.

“I’d really like to see us fundamentally change our relationship with plastic. To do that, it’s not just to do more cleanups – which are important and we appreciate the great work of volunteers and community groups – it’s actually to reduce the amount of primary plastic production.”

The findings are published in the journal Science Advances.