One of the world's top contributors to plastic pollution has backed away from its reduction and reuse goals, saying it's complicated—a move that has sparked criticism from environment organizations. Days before the global summit on reducing plastic use began, the Coca-Cola Co. took down the pledge it made in 2022 to, among other steps, reach a level of 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable containers by 2030, the Guardian reports. The company announced Monday that it will focus more on using recycled materials instead of cutting virgin and single-use plastic.
Coca-Cola is facing "challenges that are complex" in adjusting its voluntary sustainability goals, the company said. A spokesperson told the Washington Post that the company did not reduce the use of virgin plastic between 2020 and 2023 because of its growth. Coca-Cola's sustainability report said it sold 14% of its product in reusable packaging last year. A recent study traced 11% of global plastic pollution to Coca-Cola. The company was represented at the plastics summit last week in South Korea.
The organization Break Free From Plastic was critical, pointing out that it's now six straight years that the company has been the world's No. 1 plastic polluter and that its audit shows an increase for 2023, per Yahoo Tech. "Coke's latest move is a masterclass in greenwashing," an official with the group said. An official at Oceana, another nonprofit, said: "Coca-Cola has a responsibility to take real ownership over the waste and pollution it creates. Instead, it is kicking the plastic bottle down the road and into the sea again." (More Coca-Cola stories.)
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