Plastics

Photo by Recycling Today staff

Oceana: drink companies’ PET pledges out of alignment with processing capacity

Oceana Inc., Washington, D.C., says a recent study it commissioned has found targets set by the five largest soft drinks producers “would require collecting an additional 2.57 million metric tons of plastic bottles for recycling each year,” but “there is no coherent strategy in any global region apart from Europe to reliably increase the supply.”

Oceana says United Kingdom-based Eunomia Research & Consulting conducted the analysis. It examined recycled-content pledges made by Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone and Keurig Dr Pepper and attempted to consider the feasibility of meeting targets and the impact on ocean-bound plastic. In the latter case, Oceana says it is “calling on major beverage companies to adopt or expand strategies that prioritize refillable bottles.”

The five global companies have pledged to increase postconsumer recycled content in their polyethylene terephthalate plastic (PET) bottles ranging from 25 percent to 50 percent by 2025. Oceana says Eunomia’s analysis shows that “to reliably increase the supply of recycled PET for the production of bottles [it would] likely require significant government intervention.”

Problematic for protecting oceans is the disparity in collection methods in developed nations versus those with developing economies. Oceana says the examination by Eunomia found that even if the five companies can live up to their pledges, their current commitments would have little impact on reducing aquatic plastic pollution. “This is largely because bottles used for recycling are expected to predominantly be derived from already collected and managed waste streams rather than from mismanaged waste or littering,” Oceana explains.

In February of this year, the Coca-Cola Co. announced a commitment to reach 25 percent reusable packaging by 2030. A month later, PepsiCo announced it would be crafting a goal on reusable and refillable bottles by the end of 2022, Oceana says.