Approximately 4,000 volunteers collected litter along 13,000 kilometers of coastlines, countryside, streets, rivers, and green spaces over the previous year for Surfers Against Sewage’s annual study on packaging pollution.
A dozen corporations identified in a survey as responsible for 70 percent of the branded packaging pollution in the United Kingdom have been accused of “greenwashing” and urged to do more to safeguard the environment.
Approximately 4,000 volunteers collected litter along 13,000 kilometers of coastlines, countryside, streets, rivers, and green spaces over the previous year for Surfers Against Sewage’s annual study on packaging pollution.
According to the survey, 12 businesses, led by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and McDonald’s and including other large beverage and food brand firms, are responsible for the majority of branded packaging.
Hugo Tagholm, CEO of Surfers Against Sewage, remarked: “Year after year, our citizen science brand audit indicates that the same enormous corporations are to blame for the packaging pollution that is choking our ecosystem.
“Despite their stated claims to sustainability, these filthy brands fail to take meaningful measures to stop this harm.
“We can no longer tolerate such blatant greenwashing. Urgent systemic change is required to eliminate the pollution that is inundating the land and water.”
Nearly half of the reported packing would be covered by an “all-inclusive” deposit return program, according to the poll.
This would impose a fee that would be refunded to customers who returned beverage containers for recycling.
Mr. Tagholm added: “Companies must own responsibility for their polluting products and shift to reduction and reuse strategies.
“Immediate legislation, such as an ‘all-in’ deposit scheme, must be enacted, and governments must hold these companies accountable.”
The survey participants discovered 10,843 branded goods in total, which were associated with 264 companies, and 28,727 items in total, comprising both branded and unbranded things.
More than a quarter of unbranded litter was comprised of cigarette butts, contaminating soil and coastlines with single-use plastic and harmful chemicals, according to the organization.
A Coca-Cola representative said: “We share the objective of eradicating plastic waste from the environment and recognize The Coca-Cola Company’s duty to assist address this problem.
This was the impetus for establishing our ‘world without waste’ objectives, and while we continue to make progress toward these goals, we continue to challenge ourselves to do more.
A representative for Mcdonald’s said: “Over ninety percent of the packaging we use is made from recycled or renewable materials and is recyclable.
We have committed to obtaining all of our packagings from renewable and recyclable materials by 2025 as a business.
A PepsiCo UK spokeswoman said: “We are committed to lowering our plastic usage across our whole product line. Earlier this year, for instance, we announced intentions to eliminate virgin fossil-based plastic in all crisp and snack bags by 2030, replacing it with recycled or renewable content.
Furthermore, we feel that deposit return programs can serve as a vital source of high-quality, pure recyclate, which is why we continue to support well-designed programs.
