Coca-Cola admits it produces 3m tonnes of plastic packaging a year

Revelation comes as report calls on global firms to end secrecy over plastic footprint

Coca-Cola has revealed for the first time it produces 3m tonnes of plastic packaging a year – equivalent to 200,000 bottles a minute – as a report calls on other global companies to end the secrecy over their plastic footprint.

The data from the soft drinks manufacturer was provided to the campaigner Ellen MacArthur, who is pushing for major companies and governments to do more to tackle plastic pollution.

The figures – which the company has refused in the past to disclose – reveal the amount of plastic packaging Coca-Cola produced in 2017. The company did not reveal the scale of its bottle production but when its packaging footprint is translated into 500ml PET plastic bottles, it amounts to about 108bn bottles a year, more than a fifth of the world’s PET bottle output of about 500bn bottles a year.

Coca-Cola is one of 31 companies – including Mars, Nestlé and Danone – that have revealed how much plastic packaging they create as part of a drive for transparency by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Combined, they produce 8m tonnes of plastic packaging a year.

Coca-Cola’s packaging footprint is equivalent to 108bn bottles a year -
more than one-fifth of the world’s plastic bottle output.
Photograph: Richard Levine/Corbis via Getty Images

But the majority of the 150 companies who have signed up to MacArthur’s global commitment to reduce plastic pollution are still refusing to publicly disclose figures on their own plastic packaging production. These include Pepsi Co, H&M, L’Oréal, Walmart and Marks & Spencer.

In a report published on Thursday, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said data published for the first time, alongside what companies say they are doing to tackle plastic pollution, offered a new level of transparency about plastics and efforts to stop plastic waste and pollution.

But the foundation said companies and governments across the world had to do more. “The decision by more than 30 companies to publicly disclose their annual plastic packaging volumes in the report is an important step towards greater transparency,” the foundation said.

“We applaud the companies that are publishing this data and encourage all companies that make and use plastics to disclose their plastics footprint.”

One hundred and 50 companies have signed up to the foundation’s global commitment to reduce plastic waste, which aims to:

Eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging and move from single-use to reusable packaging.
Innovate to ensure 100% of plastic packaging can be easily and safely reused, recycled, or composted by 2025.
Create a circular economy in plastic by significantly increasing the volumes of plastic reused or recycled into new packaging.
Sander Defruyt, from the foundation, said the action plans revealed by governments and companies in the report were a significant step forward. But he added: “They are still far from truly matching the scale of the problem, particularly when it comes to elimination of unnecessary items and innovation towards reuse models.

“Ambition levels must continue to rise to make real strides in addressing global plastic pollution by 2025, and moving from commitment to action is crucial.”

A first step by many of the companies who have signed the commitment was more openness. Alongside Coca-Cola’s data, Nestlé revealed it puts out 1.7m tonnes of plastic packaging annually, Unilever 610,000 tonnes, and Danone 750,000 tonnes.

Only two global raw material plastic producers have signed the commitment – Indorama and Borealis – and no airlines, food chains or hotels.

(Source: The Guardian)

You can actually use Coca Cola and Pepsi as a pesticide

Do you know anything about Alok Prasad Putul, and his story about farmers who use Coca-Cola and Pepsi instead of pesticides? Yes, soft drinks are a lot cheaper alternative than chemical pesticides. This only adds to the list of cons. So, the very same beverage you like to sip is harming your metabolism, and people in India use it to kill bugs. Scary, right?

The Center for Science and Environment is one of the major voluntary agencies in India that confirm that soft drinks produced in the country contain devastating amounts of pesticide residues. Moreover, Indian farmers use these drinks to get rid of pests.

“It’s easier and cheaper to buy Coke in some 3rd world countries than to get clean water. Coca-Cola uses public relations propaganda to convince the buyers that it’s an environmental company when it’s closely linked to disease, water shortages and pollution.

The Coke has been tested in numerous cleaning scenarios and it can be compared to brands to clean oil stains, strip paint and tile grout. The CSE, in 2003 analyzed samples from twelve soft-drink manufacturers and found that all of them contain residues of four toxic insecticides and pesticides.”

Chlorpyrifos, malathion, DDT and lindane are some of these.

The study showed that the chlorpyrifos content was 42 times higher than EEC norms. Malathion was contained in 87 higher levels, and the lindane content was 21 times higher than recommended. Do you know that lindane is banned from use in the US?

It was shown that each sample can trigger the development of long-term cancer, immune disorders, birth defects and damage to the nervous and reproductive systems. The study showed that both Pepsi and Coca-Cola had similar concentrations of pesticides. Coca-Cola samples had 45 times more contaminants than the EEC norms. In Pepsi samples, it was 37 times higher than the regulated limit.

However, Indian subsidiaries chiefs of both companies deny anything that has something to do with these charges. S. Gupta, the President of Coca Cola in India, claimed these revelations to be unfair.

The companies oppose to the fact that their drinks can be used as pesticides.

But, farmers use them to protect their rice. The sale of these drinks marked a drastic increase in villages. Did you know that 1l of Nuvocron, Tracer or Avant costs about 10,000 rupees, which is £120? You can buy 1.5l of Coke for 30 rupees. An acre “soaks up” about 9 bottles, or 270 rupees.

The combination of a bottle of Coke or Pepsi and water will cost you 55-60 rupees for an ace. Now you know why farmers use soft drinks instead of conventional pesticides.

Sharma is an agricultural specialist, and he claims that farmers make a huge mistake when using soft drinks instead of pesticides. Coke and Pepsi are nothing but sugar syrups, which means they attract red ants that eat larva. If it is not Coke, then it is probably Thumbs Up, Pepsi and other local drinks. Some manufacturers use phosphoric and citric acid to enhance the flavor.
Sharma says that using sugary syrup is not a new trend, as farmers sprayed sugary solutions to attract these ants.
The plant gets enough sugar and carbs, which boosts plant’s immunity, and farmers get better crops.
US Coke is packed with high fructose syrup, which makes it more efficient in killing pests. A. Verma, Pepsi sales manager, reveals that sales in rural parts of India has increased by 20 percent.

Johnson and H. B. Mathur, CSE scientists found that soft drinks manufacturers are using groundwater. It is poor quality water that contains pesticide residues, especially in waters near Delhi. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) conducted a study according to which the samples contained excessive amount of fluoride, nitrate, and salinity. They also found traces of chromium, cadmium, and lead.

CSE laboratories tested samples of popular soft drinks in the US. The results showed no pesticide residue.

Over 95 percent of the soft drinks sold in the US are made with municipal water. The bad news is that this water also contains toxins and pharmaceuticals, including trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, gemifibrozil, estrone, carbamezapine, atrazine, antenolol, chlorine, arsenic and fluoride.

CSE experts say that the regulations for bottled water are stronger than those that apply to soft drinks.

Well, cola is bad for you, but its toxic cousins are much worse.

(Source: Healthy Food And Home Remedies)