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.
Glass is still the best medium, but it is relatively heavy and fragile - making per-unit costs significantly higher once all factors are accounted for (loss, logistics etc).
While it’s true that a few milligrams of plastic are burned off when cans are recycled - it is still infinitely better for the environment overall than single-use bottles.