Back in the 1950s, when Coke was dispensed in glass bottles, they had a self-imposed deposit of 40 cents. Coca-Cola wanted their expensive glass bottles back so they could reuse them. Before the introduction of cheap plastic, Coca-Cola was motivated to deal with its trash- đ«not the consumers. As a result, they used reusable glass bottles to cut down on the costs of packaging. But today virgin plastic is cheaper than both glass bottles and recycled plastic!
đ Coca-Cola recently admitted producing over 3 million metric tonnes of plastic every single year. An article from The Guardian calculates that is the equivalent of creating 200,000 bottles every minute. Although Coca-Cola's plastic is made form recyclable PET plastic, most bottles are not recycled. So with the transition away from glass bottling, Coca-Cola moves the burden of waste management from producers onto consumers.
One possible solution to this problem is to develop a deposit return scheme, which involves consumers paying a small deposit on top of the price of a bottled drink. The deposit is refunded when the bottle is returned to an in-store collection point or a reverse vending machine. The bottles are then collected and reused into new bottles.
Do you agree a deposit return scheme is a good solution?
Will you still want to get a refreshing drink from companies that show no public commitments to reducing their overall use of plastic, where their huge plastic pollution footprint across the globe contributes to a waste crisis that directly harms people's health?
Working with loop2cycle, our expanded sister company!
loop2cycle specializes in providing commercially viable and sustainable plastic recycling machines, including our unique 3-in-1 plastic upcycler. These machines continue to enable groups and communities around the world to turn plastic waste into quality products. This generates greater awareness of the plastic pollution crisis, provides employment and the potential to generate income in developing nations, whilst reducing plastic pollution in all cases.
Get in touch today to learn how loop2cycle can help you reduce your plastic pollution footprint!
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