German environmental NGO accuses Coke of greenwashing

Germany | The NGO German Environmental Aid (DUH) has criticised Coca-Cola for blatant greenwashing, after the beverage giant announced plans to produce beverage containers which contain 25 percent of salvaged marine plastic.

In a statement, released on 25 October 2019, DUH complains that Coke’s supposedly innovative recycling approach in fact serves to legitimise the littering of the oceans with plastic waste. Each year, millions of fish, marine mammals and seabirds die as a result of plastic waste in the oceans.

Prevention not remedies

According to DUH, the littering of the oceans cannot be a starting point for an innovative recycling cycle. The “plastic problem” has to be solved at the beginning and not at the end.

Therefore, DUH calls on Coca-Cola to dispense with disposable plastic bottles and avoid wastes through the use of reusable and refillable bottles. In addition, Coca-Cola, as the largest beverage producer in the world, should champion deposit systems globally so that beverage containers are returned to the market and not disposed of in the environment.