Coca-Cola has been accused of quietly abandoning a pledge to achieve a 25% reusable packaging target by 2030 in what campaigners call a “masterclass in greenwashing”.
The company has been previously found by researchers to be among the world’s most polluting brands when it comes to plastic waste.
In 2022, the company made a promise to have 25% of its drinks sold in refillable or returnable glass or plastic bottles, or in refillable containers that could be filled up at fountains or “Coca-Cola freestyle dispensers”.
But shortly before this year’s global plastics summit, the company deleted the page on its website outlining this promise, and it no longer has a target for reusable packaging.
“I want to do the right thing but it’s slightly more expensive”
The right thing is drinking water
The issue is more the blatant profiteering off people looking to do the right thing.
There is absolutely no reason for a small bottle of syrup to cost more per serve than buying multiple giant plastic bottles made up of 95% carbonated water.
Matter of fact, it’s counter-intuitive as you usually are charged more for a convenience (ie. a ready to go beverage), versus buying the ingredients separately.
True. But it shouldn’t be. At all.
Bottling, shipping and stocking hundreds and hundreds of bottles of soft drinks that are 98% just water on the store shelf costs a hell of a lot more than putting a hundredth of the amount of syrup in a small bag and selling that. A sachet of sugar-free cola syrup would be smaller than a McDonald’s ketchup pouch, and cost a few cents.