Plastic Polluter #1 : Coca Cola Is Not Your Friend

There’s a lot to unpack here because if you were to go with the official account from Coca Cola, it would lead you to believe that they are doing everything possible to be clean such as, “by 2035, seek to increase ‘recycled plastic use to 30-35% globally’ and ‘help ensure the collection of 70% to 75% of the equivalent number of bottles and cans introduced into the market annually.’ Unfortunately for us that is classic greenwashing rhetoric, for starters, using recycled plastic is nowhere near as beneficial as a true reusable container like glass. Because even if they increase their recycled plastic content, they’re still producing single-use plastic bottles–so this is not progress. As for the collection of bottles and cans, sounds good, but in reality there is absolutely no way to ensure this unless there is a financial incentive for individuals to return the bottles, as there is with glass and aluminum. It’s not just Coke either, their entire brand portfolio,  which is one of the most valuable in the world, and includes brands like Smart Water, Topo Chico, and Dasani, is also operating on the same system. 

Coca Cola is sold in over 200 countries and territories around the world–pretty impressive considering the UN only has 193 member states–that is essentially everywhere. Of those countries, less than half have proper waste management systems and recycling programs. As for recycling, many people might not know this, but the recycling symbol placed on plastic containers is the largest greenwashing scheme to ever exist–90% plastic is destined to be burned or dumped. 

The incineration of plastic unleashes toxic fumes and particles into the atmosphere and the improper dumping of plastics releases them into the oceans and our foodchain. In the past few years there have been numerous studies showing that microplastics have been found everywhere from testicles to breast milk, high mountaintops to remote valleys, lakes, oceans, and, yes, even in drinking water, both tap and bottled. Once inadvertently consumed, microplastics can accumulate in the body and potentially cause cancer. 

While countries like Singapore, Japan, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland, all have exceptional waste management programs, most of the world does not–especially wave rich countries like Indonesia and Mexico. Surfers often have a better sense of the problem given the amount of time spent on different beaches around the world, some of which are absolutely choking on plastic, but it is a problem for everyone.  

Coca Cola once had a robust program to collect and reuse their glass bottles and yet they knew full well that moving into plastic bottles would wreak havoc on the places where their products were sold, basically, everywhere. With a net revenue of $45.8 billion in 2023, I think it’s fair to say that they’re putting profits before people even though they have the means to do better.