According to Bea Perez, Coca-Cola’s head of sustainability, the company will not be eliminating their single-use plastic bottles anytime soon.
In an interview with the BBC, Perez stated that customers continue to buy their plastic bottles “because they reseal and are lightweight.” Their logic is that if people keep buying it, they’ll keep making it.
This is a perfect exaple of how we vote with our dollar.
Our purchases tell the companies we buy from that we approve of their product, its packaging, how it was made, and who helped make it… even if we don’t realize it.
And considering that Coca-Cola was named the world’s biggest plastic polluter last year in an audit by BreakFreeFromPlastic.org, this is very concerning.
Coca-Cola has made claims that by 2030, they will recycle as many bottles as they produce. But that means we have to trust that every consumer will recycle the bottles, and that’s not realistic. Just like it is not realistic to say that “everyone should just stop drinking coke all together.” We as consumers must stop pointing fingers at each other and blame the corporations that didn’t provide us with sustainable alternatives. Many of our disabled friends require the lightweight, resealable plastic bottle style, sometimes with a straw, in order to drink. But why does it have to be plastic? Don’t we all deserve a safer, affordable and effective alternative? For ourselves and the planet? I think so. And I know if we can work together, we can find a solution, or solutions, that can work for everyone.
In 2018, Coca-Cola had net operating revenues of over $31 billion dollars for the year. I think they can afford to fund the research for a better alternative.
Ms. Perez, you have an opportunity to make a huge impact, will it be positive or negative? How do you want to be remembered in history?
Sources: BBC News 1/12/20, Investopedia, BreakFreeFromPlastic.org
Photos: Pixabay
Zero Waste California 