In an article published on October 9, 2018, by EcoWatch, reporter Lorraine Chow informed about the results of a Brand Audit Report prepared by the non-governmental organizations Break Free From Plastic and Greenpeace and published the same day.
To better understand the sources of the plastic trash found in the oceans, “an international team of volunteers sorted through 187,000 pieces of plastic trash collected from 239 cleanups in 42 countries around the world.” Based on the findings from the “global cleanups and brand audits,” the new report identifies “Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé . . . as the world’s biggest producers of plastic trash” and names seven other multinational companies on its list of the “top 10 offenders,” including Danone, Mondelez International, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Perfetti van Melle, Mars Incorporated, and Colgate-Palmolive.
Von Hernandez, global coordinator at Break Free From Plastic, said that “these brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis.” He further stated that “by continuing to churn out problematic and unrecyclable throwaway plastic packaging for their products, these companies are guilty of trashing the planet on a massive scale.” Von Hernandez called on the companies to “own up and stop shifting the blame to citizens for their wasteful and polluting products.”
Ryan Schleeter, content editor at Greenpeace, commented that “individual consumers are already bearing the burden of this crisis,” however, “there’s only so much we can do if companies don’t step up and provide more sustainable choices.”
Read more
Lorraine Chow (October 9, 2018). “10 worst plastic polluting companies found by global cleanups.” EcoWatch
Jed Alegado (October 9, 2018). “Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestlé found to be worst plastic polluters worldwide in global cleanups and brand audits.” Break Free From Plastic
Ryan Schleeter (October 9, 2018). “These 10 companies are flooding the planet with throwaway plastic.” Greenpeace
Olivia Rosane (October 10, 2018). “You won’t believe the age of this plastic bottle found on a UK beach.” EcoWatch
Akshat Rathi (October 10, 2018). “It’s getting harder for Big Cola to not take responsibility for its plastic pollution.” Quartz
Pearly Neo (October 11, 2018). “‘Top polluters in Asia’: Coca-Cola, Mondelez respond to Greenpeace plastic waste audit findings.” Food Navigator
Josh Gabbatiss (October 12, 2018). “Coca-Cola and Nestle among worst plastic polluters based on global clean-ups.” The Independent
Food Processing (October 16, 2018). “It wasn’t me! Actually it was.” What’s new in Food Technology & Manufacturing
PlastEurope (November 12, 2018). “Greenpeace’s global plastics pollution audit identifies top brands.”
Reference
Greenpeace and Break Free From Plastic (October 9, 2018). “Branded: In search of the world’s top corporate plastic polluters.”
