According to a recent British report, the use of non-recyclable plastic by soft drink companies increased last year.
Soft drink manufacturers Coca-Cola and Pepsico and retail giant Walmart increased their use of virgin, non-recycled plastic the most among multinationals last year, tells British newspaper Financial Times (FT).
This is evident from the data collected by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which promotes the circular economy.
According to the British Foundation’s report, Pepsico’s use of non-recycled plastic increased by 4.5 percent last year compared to the previous year, and Walmart’s by 3.4 percent. At Coca-Cola, the use of non-recyclable plastic has increased by 3.5 percent since 2019.
However, among other large consumer goods waste, the use of original plastic by Unilever, Danone and Nestlé decreased.
Ellen 130 multinational companies participate in the MacArthur Foundation’s Global Commitment program. The companies have promised to increase the use of recycled plastic so that its use would rise to 26 percent of plastic use by 2025.
According to the foundation, the companies should significantly increase the use of recycled plastic in order to achieve their common goal. The use of non-recyclable plastic has returned to the level of 2018.
The companies are also committed to 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025. With the foundation, the goal is unattainable for most of the companies in the program.
Director of the foundation Sander Defruyt tells the FT that the companies have made great progress in using recycled plastic, but the progress is completely reversed due to the increase in the general use of packaging.
For example, Coca-Cola’s use of plastic increased by 8.1 percent in 2019–21.
Coke said in April that he was trying to get rid of the plastic problem. At the time, the company told HS that all half-liter bottles sold by the company in Finland are made entirely of recycled plastic, i.e. recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
In addition to the name brand Coca-Cola, the group also includes the same company’s Fanta, Sprite and Bonaqua.