The biggest polluters of the environment with plastic

Food and beverage companies such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestlé and Danone are the biggest plastic polluters of the environment, according to a new study.

The study is published on Global Data.

The new study took place in 84 countries and included 28,570 samples of plastic waste from various brands found in parks, beaches and riverbanks.

The published report reports that there is a strong correlation between high-production companies and pollution, with food and beverage groups being “disproportionately large polluters.”

Coca-Cola’s product packaging accounted for the largest percentage of branded plastic waste, as stated in the report of 1,576 inspections of different environments – 11%.

PepsiCo products followed suit, accounting for 5% of the plastic items found, while the packaging of Nestlé and Danone products accounted for 3% each.

Police inspectors reportedly searched a Nestlé water factory in France on charges of illegally dumping leftover plastic bottles.

Last November, New York State Attorney General Letitia James sued PepsiCo over the environmental impact of its plastic packaging in the local Buffalo region.

According to the study, fewer than 60 multinational companies are responsible for more than 50% of environmental pollution from branded plastic.

Other food and beverage groups listed include manufacturers Bakhresa Group, Unilever, Wings, Mayora Indah, Mondelez International, Mars and Indofood owner Salim Group.

Justifying the findings, the researchers say that food and beverages tend to have shorter periods of use before disposal.

This is a higher percentage of single-use (including short-term) items compared to other FMCG companies such as household. And beverages also have a higher likelihood of consumption on the go, the report said.

More than half of the plastic products identified in the investigation were unbranded, making it likely that the contribution of leading companies may be underestimated as the manufacturer of these plastic products is harder to trace.

The researchers emphasized that such findings highlight the need for companies to report on plastic production, “whether voluntarily or mandated by a government or international legally binding instrument.”

The researchers called for the development of “an international, open-access database in which companies are required to quantitatively track and report on their products, packaging, brands and environmental emissions.”