Microplastic contamination does not stop 1:12
(CNN Business) --
Coca-Cola knows that its drink caps almost always end up in the trash.
So now it's trying to solve the problem by keeping them from falling off the bottle, at least in the UK.
The British arm of the drinks company announced earlier this week that it has started to introduce the new versions of its plastic bottles.
The new bottles feature a cap that stays together, making it easy to recycle the entire package and preventing caps from ending up in the trash.
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Plastic bottles from Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite and Dr. Pepper will have such caps by early 2024, the company said.
The transition only applies to UK bottles.
"This is a small change that we hope will have a big impact, ensuring that when consumers recycle our bottles, they don't forget the caps," said Jon Woods, general manager of Coca-Cola UK in a statement.
The new covers will start to be available this week in the UK.
The garbage generated by plastics is a major environmental problem.
Plastics break down into microplastics that find their way into the air and ocean, harming marine life.
They can end up in our food or in our lungs, which can cause health problems.
It's also a huge public relations problem for companies like Coca-Cola.
When the company's bottles or caps end up on beaches or in landfills, consumers recognize them as Coca-Cola products, tarnishing the brand's reputation.
For this reason, more and more companies are taking measures to try to reduce their waste.
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Companies have to worry about more than their reputation and the health of the planet: there is also the threat of government regulations.
The European Union, for example, requires caps not to be separated on some plastic bottles as part of its single-use plastics directives.
Companies have until the end of 2024 to comply.
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Coca-Cola's recent move in the UK is part of its global "World Without Waste" initiative, which sets a 2030 target to help collect and recycle every empty bottle or can the company sells.
It also plans to make its cans and bottles from 50% recycled material by 2030, and make packaging 100% recyclable by 2025.
Some environmentalists have criticized Coca-Cola's efforts, saying they are not enough.
"Whether its plastic caps are secured or not, the company continues to produce billions of single-use plastic bottles each year, harming our environment, our communities, our climate, and our health," Graham said. Forbes, head of Greenpeace USA's global plastics project.
Instead of focusing on recycling, an imperfect solution, many environmentalists are advocating a switch to reusable packaging.
"If they really want to solve the plastic and climate crisis, Coca-Cola must focus on reducing plastic by doubling its reuse and refill target to 50% by 2030," Forbes stated.
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