A report showed that Coca-Cola used nearly 8 billion pounds of plastic in 2024, a significant increase from the 1.4 billion pounds it used in 2019.
What is happening?
according to Oceaniaciting figures from Ellen MacArthur Foundation According to the 2025 progress report, the company’s plastic use increased nearly 5% in just one year, right after it scaled back its plastic packaging targets.
“At a time when plastic pollution is devastating our oceans and threatening human health, plastic use at Coca-Cola has increased by more than a billion pounds in just five years,” said Dr. Dana Miller, director of strategic initiatives at Oceana.
“This is shameful. We need bold and urgent action to address this crisis, including ramping up reusable packaging on a massive scale.”
The foundation’s report announced new global plastic targets for 2030, to which several major brands, including PepsiCo, have committed. However, Coca-Cola has not made any commitments.
Why is Coca-Cola’s use of plastic worrying?
The report said that if the company does not reduce its plastic production, more than a billion pounds of the packaging it uses annually will end up in the world’s oceans, which are already overburdened with plastic.
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Recycling track systems She reported that up to 200 million tons of plastic are already floating in the oceans, and 33 billion pounds enter them every year.
Not only does this pose a risk to marine life, which may suffocate or become entangled in the plastic, but it also leaks chemicals into the water and disrupts ecosystems.
Coca-Cola has been called the world’s biggest plastic polluter, despite all of its environmental campaigns claiming otherwise.
It also came under fire after one of its sugar suppliers was accused of inhumane treatment and violating labor laws, leading to a class action lawsuit.
What does the company do about it?
An Oceana analysis from 2023 found that if Coca-Cola increased reusable beverage packaging by 10% by 2030, it could prevent more than a trillion single-use plastic caps and bottles.
The company has made positive changes in plastic parts, including eliminating plastic six-pack rings and replacing them with paper containers at its Philadelphia bottling facility.
It also partnered with a packaging machinery company to create a recyclable cardboard handle to replace the plastic wrap on 1.5-liter soda multi-packs.
Individually, we can help Ensuring a plastic-free future By replacing plastic water bottles with reusable ones or switching to cloth grocery bags, which can also save money, since many grocery stores now charge for plastic bags. Reducing even one area can make a big difference.
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