Pepsi and Coca-Cola sued for 'deception' about plastic recycling

(CLO) In the lawsuit, Los Angeles County (Los Angeles, USA) accused Pepsi and Coca-Cola of misleading the public about the recyclability of plastic bottles, as well as downplaying the negative impacts of plastic waste on health and the environment.

“Coke (Coca-Cola) and Pepsi need to stop lying and take responsibility for the plastic pollution their products cause,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in a lawsuit filed on October 30. “Los Angeles County must continue to address the serious environmental impacts caused by companies with misleading and unfair business practices.”

Photo: AP

Coca-Cola owns brands such as Dasani, Fanta, Sprite, Vitamin Water and Smartwater, while PepsiCo owns Gatorade, Aquafina, Mountain Dew... These two companies have been ranked as the world's top plastic polluters for five consecutive years, with Coca-Cola holding the number one spot for six years, according to global environmental group Break Free From Plastic.

According to Break Free from Plastic, PepsiCo produces about 2.5 million tons of plastic and Coca-Cola produces about 3.224 million tons of plastic each year.

The lawsuit says Coca-Cola and PepsiCo waged a “misinformation campaign” to get consumers to buy single-use plastics, believing they were recyclable and less harmful to the environment.

The lawsuit alleges that both companies promised to create a “circular economy” for plastic bottles, in which plastic bottles could be recycled and reused countless times, when in reality, plastic bottles could only be recycled once, if at all.

The lawsuit seeks a court order to stop the companies' "unfair and deceptive business practices," as well as restitution to consumers and civil penalties of up to $2,500 per violation.

The American Beverage Association, which includes PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, has denied allegations in a lawsuit over its plastic bottle recycling labels.

“The claims that our packaging is not recycled are completely untrue,” said group spokesman William Dermody.

Dermody said California will have a 71% bottle recycling rate by 2023, one of the highest in the country, and their bottles are “designed to be recycled and can contain up to 100% recycled plastic.”

In 2022 alone, an estimated 121,324 to 179,656 tons of plastic waste leaked into California's land and ocean, and plastic accounted for seven of the 10 most common types of trash found on beaches, according to the lawsuit.

A big part of the problem is microplastics. Plastics that leak into the environment eventually break down into tiny pieces of plastic measuring 5 millimeters or less. They can affect soil and plant growth, marine life and fish, and are nearly impossible to remove from the environment, the lawsuit says.

Last November, a group of European Union consumer and environmental organizations filed a legal complaint against Coca-Cola, Nestle and Danone, accusing them of misleadingly advertising packaging as 100% recycled or 100% recyclable.

Hoai Phuong (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/pepsi-va-coca-cola-bi-kien-vi-lua-doi-ve-tai-che-nhua-post319516.html