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Coca-Cola named world’s worst plastic polluter for third straight year
- sheepdestroyer 6y agoDisposable plastic bags have been banned from super markets in many countries. The same could be done for plastic bottles.
- southeastern 6y agoI think it's pretty well accepted at this point that this is an unsustainable trend. I'm not sure why glass isn't used more as an alternative, I'd assume cost and convenience. But it might be more expensive for us not to make the switch in the long run
- robjan 6y agoSadly glass costs more, is more breakable and is quite heavy relative to its contents and therefore leads to higher CO2 emissions. Glass is also theoretically close-loop recyclable but it's again cumbersome and expensive. It's usually downcycled into building materials.
- dvdbloc 6y agoMy local area has even stopped recycling glass citing costs.
- hyperdimension 6y agoMine as well, which surprised me since I thought that glass (probably separated by colour) was one of, if not the only, material that was less costly to recycle than make from scratch. I'm already skeptical of the overall impact of recycling in general; I feel as though it makes people feel like they're helping the environment while turning attention away from the mass polluters. I'm definitely cynical, but I'd really like to be proven wrong on that last point.
- erik 6y agoSterilize-and-reuse programs for glass bottles are excellent, but they are rare. In theory melting down used glass for inclusion in new glass production is an energy win, but it seems to be rarely used in practice. About the best most glass "recycling" seems to do is mix crushed glass into gravel and paving materials.
- colechristensen 6y agoDisposible bags were banned from stores in california, they were replaced by significantly heavier bags made of the same plastic but thicker. Now many stores have pandemic signs “no reusable bags”. So the outcome of banning disposable bags is a whole lot of extra plastic being disposed.
- tdeck 6y agoI live in California and the reality is that most people bring bags with them rather than paying for the reusable ones every time, which was the objective of the law. Safeway and other supermarkets banned reusable bags briefly at the start of the pandemic but they've allowed them for months now. Since I grew up in a state where you got free plastic bags, and went to college in another such state, it took some adjustment. But it's not really that hard - pretty soon you just remember to bring a bag when you're shopping, in the same way that you might remember to bring your wallet.
- Rebelgecko 6y ago>they've allowed them for months now. It's very hit or miss. When I go to Ralph's by me during the day, they say no reusable bags. When I go at night they're fine with it. My Trader Joe's only allows reusable bags if you bag the groceries yourself; the employees aren't supposed to touch them
- colechristensen 6y agoIt is like the other commenter said, hit or miss. More importantly, sanitizing trumps rules. It is simply a bad idea in a pandemic to carry around and re-use plastic bags. Lowering the surface area of potential contact is important.
- Triv888 6y agoWhat are you gonna use instead?
- pstuart 6y agoPerhaps bottle deposits need to increase enough to make them care, for starters. It needs to be cheaper for them to do the "right thing", whatever way that takes.
- archanox 6y agoGreenpeace at it again!
- woofcat 6y agoI'm confused how this is anything other than "Coca-Cola the worlds most popular beverage maker" Coca-Cola didn't do anything to put that garbage there, people who consumed their product did.
- cwwc 6y agoGood point, I agree the onus is partially upon consumers. That said, glass bottles are an option.
- mc32 6y agoAt least with glass eventually we'd get "beach glass". (I don't think making glass and handling glass and so on that much more environmentally friendly than plastics are.
- acadien 6y agoPlease take 10 minutes to educate yourself on this topic. https://apps.npr.org/plastics-recycling https://apps.npr.org/plastics-recycling https://lbre.stanford.edu/pssistanford-recycling/frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-glass-recycling https://lbre.stanford.edu/pssistanford-recycling/frequently-...
- whomst 6y agoThat’s very condescending
- stevenhuang 6y agoNo, it isn't.
- colechristensen 6y agoPlease do not use this kind of language when talking to any other humans.
- cwwc 6y agoIt is interesting to note that Coke yields a more negative impact, overall, than even “bad” tobacco companies - yet the ESG Funds rush to Coke for inclusion in their ‘sustainable company’ funds...
- mc32 6y agoESG is mostly a marketing gimmick and at least now are virtually indistinguishable from regular funds.
- hikerclimb 6y agoI agree...
- egonschiele 6y ago> In its annual audit of plastic waste found on beaches, rivers, parks and communities across the globe > The project, which is undertaken by 15,000 volunteers What an interesting way to conduct the study.
- conductr 6y agoA bit biased towards things consumed at beaches, rivers, parks and communities
- jamesrcole 6y ago[downvoters: care to explain what is wrong with asking this question? I’ve received quite a few downvotes since asking this (the points have gone up and down) yet no-one has tried to explain why they object to asking the question. Seems there’s lots of ideological downvoting going on.] "Disposable plastic is bad" is one of those things "everybody knows", that tends to be just accepted as true. Are there rigorous arguments for it being bad? The common arguments against them tend to be fairly shallow, IMO. I've heard that the actual issue is mostly poor waste management and recycling practices in certain countries and on ships, and that landfill isn't really a bad thing. I'm willing to hear arguments against disposable plastic.
- apsurd 6y agoi’m no export so there will be no citations. i was just thinking, the current state of plastics is they pollute oceans and jeopardize entire ecosystems. and they’re made from oil. an idealized argument for how, strictly speaking, this outcome doesn’t have to be the case, is not really that useful? we don’t really recycle plastics because it’s cheaper to just make new plastics. saying all we have to do is recycle plastics is not an actual economic solution? i never comment anymore. thought i’d give it a shot heh
- jamesrcole 6y agoThank you for the response. What I’ve heard is that plastics don’t pollute, per se, its poor waste management practices. When those practices are sufficient the plastic isn’t an issue (or is much less of an issue). https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution#where-does-our-plastic-accumulate-in-the-ocean-and-what-does-that-mean-for-the-futures https://ourworldindata.org/plastic-pollution#where-does-our-... The summary of those details from that document: “However, it is the management of plastic waste that determines the risk of plastic entering the ocean. High-income countries have very effect waste management systems; mismanaged waste – and plastic that ends up in the oceans – is therefore very rare. Poor waste management across many middle- and low-income countries means that these are the main sources of global ocean plastic pollution This makes the improvement of waste management systems across the world critical to reducing plastic pollution. An estimated 20 percent of all plastic waste in the oceans comes from marine sources. In some regions, marine sources dominate: More than half of plastics in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) come from fishing nets, ropes and lines”. If this is true, then the best way to address the pollution would be to address those poor practices.
- cable2600 6y agoWe drink aluminum cans in cardboard cases. Then trade in the empty cans for cash. No plastic needed.
- tacocataco 6y agoSorry if this is nitpicking but isn't there a plastic liner in soda cans? It's funny to me the alternative is already widely distributed by the same company.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoThe liner gets incinerated when the can is recycled whereas PET bottles get shredded and mixed into other products without the air pollution.
- conductr 6y agoI even prefer the taste
- buster 6y agoBut aluminium is even worse. The co2 footprint is many times worse than Glas or even plastic.
- jdkee 6y agoCoca Cola is in the plastic bottle business plain and simple.
- Triv888 6y agoThey get the water for free after all
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Triv888 6y agoThe worst polluters are the customers....
- Triv888 6y agonoone wants to take credit, I see.
- throwitaway1235 6y agoCoca-cola should be required to bottle their products in glass. Sometimes the answer to these problems are that straight forward.
- kevincox 6y agoHow does this solve the problem? Glass has huge costs to recycle as well. It seems the major benefit here is that there is less environmental impact if it gets tossed into the sea? Of course this has other issues such as breaking and cutting people. IIRC glass only breaks out ahead if you reuse it. This is why you will often see coke in glass bottles in European bars, they are collected and sent back for reuse so it makes economical and environmental impact.
- dusted 6y agoIn Denmark, you pay a little extra for the bottle itself when you buy a soda, you get that money back when you return the bottle to the store for recycling. This provides a nice enough incentive for people to generally not throw bottles, and it provides an nice extra income for kids and others who collect the bottles that do get tossed. I bought my first ethernet card with money spent collecting bottles at a concert (I hauled 4 large trash bags, worth about $100 in a single evening). I don't get why this is not how everybody does it.
- 93po 6y agoEvery state I've lived in in the US is the same way, except virtually no one still bothers
- makoConstruct 6y agoSounds like they should raise the bond, then?
- RickJWagner 6y agoThis is exactly how I got pinball money as a kid. Kids today could collect bottles and aluminum cans for money, but for many the payback is too little. Who wants to slog through ditches to make quarters when the iPhone brings entertainment to you for free?
- Proven 6y agoWhere do the find the courage to post these stupid "news"? CC isn't the polluter. It's the people who don't properly dispose of empty PET bottles. Basic logic, but not for the likes of the busybodies at The Guardian...