Greenpeace denounces Coca-Cola's annual production of 120 billion plastic bottles

 

During a demonstration in South Africa on Thursday, Greenpeace Africa denounced Coca-Cola's annual production of 120 billion single-use plastic bottles, calling on the company to replace them with metal bottles and cans to reduce plastic pollution.

Activists from the NGO, during a demonstration marking World Environment Day, placed a giant red Coca-Cola bottle cap outside the company's Johannesburg office, emblazoned with the slogan "Cap it, Coke," in a call to end its reliance on these materials.

Greenpeace reported that Coca-Cola has been considered the world's largest plastic polluter for six consecutive years.

"Coke produces 120 billion single-use plastic bottles annually. This plastic—most of it—ends up in the environment and marine ecosystems," Helen Kahaso Dina, a representative of the NGO, told AFP.

She added, "So today, we stand in front of their office and demand that they reduce plastic production, invest in refilling and reusing, and ensure they invest in other sustainable forms of packaging like glass bottles and metal cans."

She described the company's assertions that it promotes plastic recycling as "environmental misinformation." She continued, "We know that only about 9 percent of plastic is recycled. Most of that plastic will end up in nature."

Greenpeace also urged Coca-Cola to support the campaign for a global plastics treaty that prioritizes a cap on plastic production.

Negotiations led by delegates from nearly 200 countries to draft the first global treaty to combat plastic pollution collapsed in South Korea last year amid opposition from a group of mainly oil-producing countries.

A new round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Geneva in August.

Since the failure of these negotiations, Coca-Cola has scaled back its environmental commitments, effectively abandoning its goal of using 25 percent reusable packaging by 2030, postponing deadlines, and reducing targeted recycling volumes.

According to Greenpeace, more than 99 percent of plastic is derived from fossil fuels, demonstrating a direct link between plastic production and the climate crisis.

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