Few big retailers are responsible for much of the world's plastic waste, according to environmentalists. The biggest polluters are Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Pepsi.
Volunteers from the global alliance "Break Free from Plastics" have collected plastic waste for over a day in more than 50 countries and, where possible, assigned it to the manufacturing companies, according to a statement by the environmental organization Greenpeace. The alliance covered almost half a million parts. 43 percent of them could have been assigned to a brand.
As in the previous year, the first place went to Coca-Cola. The US group accounted for more garbage than the three following companies put together. These are Nestlé, Pepsi and Mondelez.
Alliance sees major problem with multinational corporations
Many of these companies have made commitments to "make their products more sustainable," the Alliance said. However, they continued to support the "disposable business model" by promoting recycling while continuing to produce disposable packaging. In fact, only nine percent of the plastic produced since the 1950s has been recycled, it went on to say.
Although it is the countries of China, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and Sri Lanka that throw the most plastic waste into the oceans, "Break Free from Plastics" continued. The main problem of pollution in Asia lies with "multinationals in Europe and the US".
Greenpeace: Companies should reduce disposable plastic
The study relies on data collected by the volunteers themselves and is therefore not representative, Greenpeace said. However, it should give "a good indication" about the most common brands in discarded plastic waste. The organization called on corporations to reduce the use of disposable plastic.
The Alliance includes thousands of activists, volunteers and organizations, including Greenpeace.
A Nestlé spokeswoman said the group was aware of its responsibility as the world's largest food company to solve the problem. It is unacceptable that packaging as waste pollutes the environment. Therefore, Nestlé is working to make all packaging reusable or recyclable by 2025.