WASHINGTON, DC (April 27, 2023)–In response to Coca-Cola’s 2022 Business and Sustainability Report, Lisa Ramsden, Senior Oceans Campaigner, said: “Coca-Cola says they want to help tackle the plastic waste crisis, but then they continue to increase the amount of plastic they use, year after year. As they continue to use more single-use plastic, the numbers of refillable bottles they have in circulation stay the same. This is exactly why we need a strong Global Plastics Treaty – corporations will never change their harmful, polluting ways unless they are forced to.”
In 2021, Coca-Cola had approximately 4 billion refillable plastic bottles and 25 billion refillable glass bottles in circulation. These numbers have remained virtually unchanged despite its pledge to increase refill and reuse by 25% by 2030, while the company has increased its production of single-use bottles by over 9 billion, from 125 billion in 2021 to 134 billion in 2022.
The company announced another year of billion-dollar profits at its recent annual general meeting, where it presented its sustainability report. The cost of plastic pollution on our environment and communities is estimated to be about $100 billion per year, according to the Minderoo Foundation. Plastic pollutes through its entire lifecycle, from extraction as fossil fuels to disposal. Frontline communities where refineries and production facilities are located, predominantly black and brown communities, face increased health risks such as cancer.
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Contact: Tanya Brooks, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, P: 703-342-9226, E: [email protected]
Greenpeace USA is part of a global network of independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. Greenpeace USA is committed to transforming the country’s unjust social, environmental, and economic systems from the ground up to address the climate crisis, advance racial justice, and build an economy that puts people first. Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/usa.
