Produce, Consume, Repurpose

There's no doubt that plastic bottles are causing damage to the environment. As you may know, 80% of plastic water bottles we consume end up in landfills and every single one of them takes up to 450 years to decompose. The visible problems and obvious impacts to the environment that are caused by plastic waste are innumerable. In simple terms, plastic bottles overflow landfills, require an absurd amount of fossil fuel (production), and also pollute the ocean. This has been the motive for many environmental activities regarding marine plastic litter and debris all around the world. It's evident that plastic is surrounding us, consequently having an immense impact on our only definite home - the earth. Therefore, we won't stay still and do nothing, nor the companies who play a major role in this.

Reduce what you buy, reuse what you have, recycle everything else, and reimagine a sustainable world.

Fortunately, companies with the biggest index of plastic waste are dealing with this predominant issue and foremostly acting upon it. In practice, they minimize their carbon footprint since the awareness of plastic bottles' negative impact on the environment spreads extensively everyday. Will this solve it? Unfortunately no, but it's a significant step in that direction. The world's largest beverage company, Coca-Cola Company has been a leader in the reduction of plastic and carbon footprint and has been reinventing their plastic bottles and packaging over the years. By 2030, they have a goal of collecting and recycling the equivalent of every bottle or can it sells globally. What was once merely plastic is now destined to other places rather than the oceans or landfills, destined to a much brighter and greener future, destined to a world of sustainability. Here is a glimpse of their journey to a world with no residuals: "Further, in 2009, Coca-Cola introduced fully recyclable PlantBottle packaging made from up to 30 percent plant-based materials." James Quincey, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company (Australia) also said "And we don’t intend to stop there."

In Australia, 100% of cans and bottles are recyclable; Mount Franklin 600 ML water bottles are made of complete recycled plastic and that is just a fraction of the company's aims.

Quincey crucially states: "When you woke up this morning, you may have spent about an hour getting ready. You brushed your teeth, showered, and got dressed. Feeling hungry, perhaps you made breakfast and watched the morning news. Some of you sent children off to school. Others responded to emails that arrived overnight. Me? I cut myself shaving again. No matter who you are or where you live, one thing is certain: in that hour, an estimated 900 metric tons of plastic waste entered our oceans. That’s the mass of nearly 600 mid-size sedans." He continues: "That’s unacceptable."

It is unacceptable. So why is it so innovative and pivotal that companies such as Coca-Cola seek a circular economy--primarily to have an economic system that goes from "make, use, dispose", to "produce, consume, repurpose". In 2020, Brazil took a step forward. Crystal, a mineral water company owned by Coca Cola, began producing 100% recycled resin packages and bottles. Also, Femsa, Coca- Cola's anchor bottler operates SustentaPET, a company dedicated to the collection of PET waste, which fosters the circular economy. What SustentaPET centrally does is that it buys the material from collectors/ cooperatives and sends it to recycling companies. It is later on transformed back into resin and then the plastic is ready to be used in new packaging.

Ultimately, this is a brief explanation of the lengthy journey ahead of us and how companies are aspiring to sustainability, reassuring us that a world with zero waste is indeed possible. Yet remember that to take a step forward and closer to the goal, we have to work together. So no matter how big or small your action is, do it, even if it's by putting recycling material in the recycle bin, or buying recyclable products; and be certain that in one way or another, your future self is thanking you.

---

“Coca-Cola Announces Ambitious Sustainable Packaging Goal.” Coca-Cola Company Australia, The Coca-Cola Company, 19 Jan. 2018, www.coca-colacompany.com/au/news/a-world-without-waste-coca-cola-announces-ambitious-sustainable-#:%7E:text=Coca%2DCola%20today%20announced%20an,it%20sells%20globally%20by%202030.

SustentaPET. SustentaPET, sustentapet.com.br. Accessed 27 Apr. 2021.

BBC News. “Coca-Cola Pledges to Recycle All Packaging by 2030.” BBC News, BBC, 19 Jan. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/business-42746911.

ATHOMPSON. “The Environmental Impacts of Plastic Water Bottles.” Go Green, GoGreen.org, 14 Nov. 2017, www.gogreen.org/blog/impacts-of-plastic-water-bottles.

Moreno. “Ao contrário da Ambev, Coca-Cola vai manter garrafas de plástico.” Portal sobre sustentabilidade, humanidade e impacto social, Gooders News, 23 Jan. 2020, goodersnews.com.br/ao-contrario-da-ambev-coca-cola-vai-manter-garrafas-de-plastico/#:%7E:text=Coca%2DCola%20planeja%20usar%2050,a%20cada%20garrafa%20vendida%20globalmente.&text=A%20melhor%20aposta%20para%20reduzir%20a%20polui%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20pl%C3%A1stica%20%C3%A9%20menos%20garrafas.

Richter, Felix. “The Companies With the Largest Plastic Footprint.” Statista Infographics, Statista, 10 Dec. 2020, www.statista.com/chart/23744/branded-plastic-waste-found-in-global-cleanups.