8mo ago

Coca-Cola accused of quietly dropping its 25% reusable packaging target

www.theguardian.com

Coca-Cola has been accused of quietly abandoning a pledge to achieve a 25% reusable packaging target by 2030 in what campaigners call a “masterclass in greenwashing”.

The company has been previously found by researchers to be among the world’s most polluting brands when it comes to plastic waste.

In 2022, the company made a promise to have 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in refillable containers that could be filled up at fountains or “Coca-Cola freestyle dispensers”.

But shortly before this year’s global plastics summit, the company deleted the page on its website outlining this promise, and it no longer has a target for reusable packaging.

News @lemmy.world

MicroWave @lemmy.world

8mo ago

Coca-Cola accused of quietly dropping its 25% reusable packaging target

www.theguardian.com /environment/2024/dec/03/coca-cola-accused-dropping-reusable-packaging-target

40 comments

I'm just going to be unpopular for a minute here and say if you find yourself drinking out of single use disposable containers everyday, take some time to see if you can change that, even a little bit.
The future "goals" listed here are so lame I don't think you can pretend there's a sustainable way for billions of people to have that habit.
- Yeah, the people are to blame. Why won't anyone ever think of the poor corporations trying their best?
  
  Dunno why you're getting downvoted, 'cause you're right.
  Corporations sell products THEY'VE created in containers THEY'VE chosen using media THEY'VE hired to create profit for THEMSELVES.
  How in the fuck are regular people at fault here in any way, shape or form?
  
  You're the one giving them money every day for sugar water. I just said to maybe stop?
- Yeah, let's try and change the habits of billions of people rather than the practises of 1 company. Way simpler and effective solution.
  In fact, let's not even worry about the fact that the company in particular does everything in its power to keep people buying their product.
  
  I'm not trying to change billions of people's habits, just a few that I know and love :)
  But, I don't think I'm alone.
  Where is the button I push to dissolve CocaCola? Our pure hatred isn't going to do it.
  Everyone wishes they could somehow multiply their own influence over the world, but being just one person is no reason to give in and do what they told you.
  Voting once a year with a Coke in your other hand is a recipe for status quo.
- While it's a commendable attitude for one person, trying to solve systematic issues by appealing to individuals does not work.
  That is exactly what governments and legislature are for.
- I'd buy a soda stream syrup instead of buying coca cola bottles but last time I checked it was slightly more expensive to do so
  
  "I want to do the right thing but it's slightly more expensive"
  
  Also SodaStream is an Israeli company with ties to forced labor in the West Bank :(
  
  I have one but it’s just not the same to me. And yes I needed to use so much syrup it’s not cost effective for me either.
  
  As I have diabetes I make my own soda. Just buy some good quality flavorings from a reputable shop and add them to club soda ... or, if you like 7-up, just add a few drops of lemon and lime juice to club soda.
  For a sweetener I use stevia, but if you want sugar for your drink, boil some water and add a few tablespoons of sugar. Add some of that mix to the club soda mixture, to taste.
Here is in Denmark they are at 100%, because that's our law. As far as I know (as a consumer), it works just fine.
All soda bottles and cans can be returned in (almost?) any store that sells them. When we buy, a small deposit is added. When we return the container, we get the deposit back.
The deposit is adjusted every now and then to keep it small enough to not significantly affect customers buying power, but big enough that most people want the money back.
- Where aren't they close to that?
  In Australia they were at 70:30 Recycled:Virgin PET, 30 years ago when I toured the plant, all of their water products are 100% now (but they're pretty flimsy, not sure the mount franklin bottles would hold up under 'shaken up coca coca' pressures)
- In 2022, the company made a promise to have 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in refillable containers that could be filled up at fountains or “Coca-Cola freestyle dispensers”.
  It's reusable, not recyclable that is the pledge. While recyclable is good, reusable is better.
  Denmark doesn't have any laws making it reusable only.
  
  Ah yes, that is an important distinction. Although for now, I'd say recycling instead of trashing is a big improvement. Especially if the trash ends up in nature.
Manufacturers should have been made responsible for ensuring that there was a system in place for their packaging, decades ago. This isn’t a “vote with your dollars” thing - plastic is cheap and has no downsides to the megacorps, only to us and the environment.
The plastic industry has been gaslighting us for decades, in a way that the cigarette industry must be kicking itself watching.
- There already is a system in place they are just being cheap.
  Every container coke comes in could be made of aluminum one of the most recyclable and reusable metals we have.
  
  Aluminum with a thin plastic liner. Only glass gets away without any use of plastics, and even they maybe not, as I haven’t seen any bottle caps without some sort of lining lately
What's wrong with aluminum?
- Not that this makes it "wrong" but aluminum cans are also plastic cans, they have a liner on the inside of the metal layer that prevents the acidic soda from corroding things and affecting the flavor. Here's a quick demo of it. While it doesn't prevent the Al from being recycled it is single-use plastic, the liner burns off when the can is melted down. Glass has no such need for the liner.
  
  Glass is still the best medium, but it is relatively heavy and fragile - making per-unit costs significantly higher once all factors are accounted for (loss, logistics etc).
  While it’s true that a few milligrams of plastic are burned off when cans are recycled - it is still infinitely better for the environment overall than single-use bottles.
  
  There was plastic in there this whole time? Thank you for that video. Very informative.
  Is it weird that I think drinks from an aluminum can taste better than their plastic bottle equivalent? Is the difference in my head?
wonder how many coke bottles are floating in the ocean

40 comments