5 companies create a quarter of plastic pollution: Study

Five companies account for a quarter of the world’s plastic waste, according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.

the studyThe study, conducted by the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution, included an examination of plastic waste collected from 2018 to 2022.

Of the more than 1.8 million pieces of waste collected, more than 900,000 had visible branding. Researchers identified just under 60 companies as sources of the majority of the world’s plastic waste, and five companies as sources of 24% of it. Coca-Cola alone is responsible for 11 percent of the world’s branded plastic pollution, making it the largest single culprit identified by researchers. His other four major manufacturers were, in order, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone, and Altria.

The study also found that for every 1 percent increase in plastic usage, the contribution to plastic pollution increases by a corresponding 1 percent.

This follows a February report by anti-plastic production groups that found the vast majority of plastics cannot be fully recycled and are typically thrown away in landfills. A separate report by scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory showed that the plastics industry emits up to four times the amount of global warming gases associated with air travel.

“What surprised me the most was the relationship between plastic production and plastic pollution,” Wynn Cowger, director of research at the Moore Institute for Plastic Pollution and lead author of the study, told The Hill in an interview. He spoke at

He said the study also found that “plastic pollution increases slightly if a business is in the food and beverage sector” compared to other sectors such as retail or households, with single-use plastic products contributing to waste. He added that it was suggested that this was the case.

“Altria has reviewed the investigation and believes it is fundamentally wrong about our company,” an Altria spokesperson said in a statement. “While this study includes data from over 80 countries, Altria’s tobacco company Philip Morris USA only operates in the United States. Therefore, this study reports only 2% of the world’s branded plastic pollution. There is no way that Altria and the Prime Minister of the United States could be held responsible.”

In response, Cowger pointed out that even though American tobacco products are considered “luxury goods,” the company assumes that their products will not contribute to waste across international routes.

“While Altria and PMI are two separate companies, they own many of the same brands and many of the same products in different countries,” the Moore Institute said in a longer statement. (e.g. Marlboro, L&M, Congress). We used references from each company.” In researching their site, Altria and He came to the conclusion that PMI cannot be distinguished by brand name alone. ”

“Our goal is to make 100% of our packaging globally recyclable by 2025 and to have at least 50% recycled content in our packaging by 2030,” a Coca-Cola spokesperson said. told The Hill. “We also aim to collect and recycle every bottle or can we sell by 2030. We also aim to use reusable or returnable packaging, such as through refillable bottles, by 2030. We are also working to increase this to 25%.

The Hill has reached out to Nestlé, PepsiCo and Danone for comment.