A new study documenting the scourge of plastic waste around the world has found that more than half of branded plastic pollution can be traced back to just 56 companies.
More than 20 per cent of all branded pollution is linked to four brands: The Coca-Cola Company (11 per cent), PepsiCo (five per cent), Nestlé (three per cent) and Danone (two per cent).
The research, published in the journal Science Advances and led by scientists at Dalhousie University in collaboration with universities around the world, is based on audits of plastic pollution in 84 countries over a five-year period.
“They’re some of the largest corporations in the world. And they have the reach in every single country on the planet,” said co-author Tony Walker, a professor in Dalhousie’s school for resource and environmental studies.
The peer-reviewed analysis used data gathered by volunteers at more than 1,500 events at beaches, parks, rivers and other public spaces. The audits were organized by the environmental group Break Free from Plastic and took place between 2018 and 2022.
The study also notes that the production of plastic doubled, from 200 million tonnes in 2000 to 400 million tonnes in 2019.
In a statement, Coca-Cola said its goal is to make 100 per cent of its packaging recyclable globally by 2025 and to use at least 50 per cent recycled material in its packaging by 2030. The company also said it aims “to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one we sell by 2030.”
PepsiCo issued a statement on Wednesday saying it has “made significant investments for more than a decade aiming to reduce the packaging we use, scale reusable models and partner to further develop collection and recycling systems.”
The company added it is advocating for “an ambitious and binding global policy framework to help address plastic pollution and we urge others to seize the opportunity to do the same.”
In a statement released Wednesday, Nestlé acknowledged plastic pollution is “a serious issue and one that we are working hard to help address” — and that it supports global legally binding regulation. It also cited Nestlé’s ongoing projects to develop waste collection, sorting and recycling schemes in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and Latin America.
Danone did not immediately return a request for comment.
Thousands of delegates are in Ottawa trying to hammer out an historic treaty to end plastic pollution, but the road to get there is littered with hurdles. CBC’s Susan Ormiston examines why it’s so hard to curb the problem and what it will take for the world to agree on a plan.
Plastic waste summit in Ottawa
The study comes as representatives from 176 countries gather in Ottawa for a summit on how to reduce plastic waste.
It is the fourth negotiating round ahead of a final session later this year in South Korea, where parties hope to sign onto a binding international treaty on plastic pollution.
As talks began Tuesday, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the consensus has to be a commitment to ending the “disposable consumer culture” that results in so much waste.
Activists staged a mass “die-in” in front of Ottawa’s convention centre to protest what they described as the devastating impacts of plastic pollution on human health and biodiversity.
Recycling not a panacea
Patricia Corcoran, a professor of Earth sciences at the University of Western Ontario, said the study is “highly significant” given its global reach.
Corcoran worked on a similar study examining plastic pollution on beaches along the Great Lakes.
In both studies, “food and beverage waste is what’s out there — that’s not a surprise whatsoever,” she said.
“If you highlight who the biggest producers are… then maybe that will raise awareness to the company, and the company might do something about it.”
Plastic waste is often painted as a consumer problem that can be solved with improved recycling, Walker said.
But as he pointed out, only nine per cent of all plastics are recycled. The rest end up in landfills or the wider environment.
“Recycling alone isn’t going to solve this problem,” he said.
“Eliminating these hard-to-recycle plastics is another solution, as is holding these corporations accountable to pay or to design better products that don’t make their way into the environment.”
Calls for better tracking
The study found that more than 50 per cent of the recovered plastic items had no discernible branding after being exposed to the sun, water and air.
The researchers said their study highlights the need for greater transparency about the production and labelling of plastic products and packaging, to make it easier to track pollution and hold companies accountable.
They argue for an international, open-access database into which companies are obliged to quantitatively track and report their products, packaging and brands to the environment.
Earlier this week, the federal government took a step toward that goal.
Guilbeault announced a new registry that would require companies to provide details on how much plastic is being produced, and where it ends up.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault tells Power & Politics about plans for Canada’s new plastics registry, plus details of the UN plastic pollution treaty talks in Ottawa. The talks are aimed at coming up with an international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution for more than 170 countries.
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