{"id":584,"date":"2018-10-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-10-08T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/master.k8s.p4.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/press\/584\/coca-cola-pepsico-and-nestle-found-to-be-worst-plastic-polluters-worldwide-in-global-cleanups-and-brand-audits\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T16:46:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:46:43","slug":"coca-cola-pepsico-and-nestle-found-to-be-worst-plastic-polluters-worldwide-in-global-cleanups-and-brand-audits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/press\/584\/coca-cola-pepsico-and-nestle-found-to-be-worst-plastic-polluters-worldwide-in-global-cleanups-and-brand-audits\/","title":{"rendered":"Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl\u00e9 found to be worst plastic polluters worldwide in global cleanups and brand audits"},"content":{"rendered":"
Manila, Philippines \u2013 Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl\u00e9 were the most frequent companies identified in 239 cleanups and brand audits spanning 42 countries and six continents, the Break Free From Plastic movement announced today. Over 187,000 pieces of plastic trash were audited, identifying thousands of brands whose packaging relies on the single-use plastics that pollute our oceans and waterways globally. Coca-Cola was the top polluter in the global audit, with Coke-branded plastic pollution found in 40 of the 42 participating countries. This brand audit effort is the most comprehensive snapshot of the worst plastic polluting companies around the world.<\/div>\n
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\u201cThese brand audits offer undeniable proof of the role that corporations play in perpetuating the global plastic pollution crisis,\u201d said Global Coordinator of Break Free From Plastic Von Hernandez. \u201cBy continuing to churn out problematic and unrecyclable throwaway plastic packaging for their products, these companies are guilty of trashing the planet on a massive scale. It\u2019s time they own up and stop shifting the blame to citizens for their wasteful and polluting products.\u201d<\/p>\n

The audits, led by Break Free From Plastic member organizations[1], found that Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestl\u00e9, Danone, Mondelez International, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Perfetti van Melle, Mars Incorporated, and Colgate-Palmolive were the most frequent multinational brands collected in cleanups, in that order. This ranking of multinational companies included only brands that were found in at least ten of the 42 participating countries. Overall, polystyrene, which is not recyclable in most locations, was the most common type of plastic found, followed closely by PET, a material used in bottles, containers, and other packaging.<\/p>\n

The top polluters in Asia, according to the analysis, were Coca-Cola, Perfetti van Melle, and Mondelez International brands. These brands accounted for 30 percent of all branded plastic pollution counted by volunteers across Asia. This year\u2019s brand audits throughout Asia build upon a week-long cleanup and audit at the Philippines\u2019 Freedom Island in 2017, which found Nestl\u00e9 and Unilever to be the top polluters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pay the price for multinational companies\u2019 reliance on cheap throwaway plastic,\u201d said Greenpeace Southeast Asia \u2013 Philippines Campaigner Abigail Aguilar. \u201cWe are the ones forced to clean up their plastic pollution in our streets and waterways. In the Philippines, we can clean entire beaches and the next day they are just as polluted with plastics. Through brand audits, we can name some of the worst polluters and demand that they stop producing plastic to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n

In North and South America, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl\u00e9 brands were the top polluters identified, accounting for 64 and 70 percent of all the branded plastic pollution, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Latin America, brand audits put responsibility on the companies that produce useless plastics and the governments that allow corporations to place the burden, from extraction to disposal, in mostly vulnerable and poor communities,\u201d said GAIA Coordinator for Latin America Magdalena Donoso. \u201cBFFP members in Latin America are exposing this crisis \u00a0and promoting zero waste strategies in connection with our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Europe, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestl\u00e9 brands were again the top identified polluters, accounting for 45 percent of the plastic pollution found in the audits there. In Australia, 7-Eleven, Coca-Cola, and McDonald\u2019s brands were the top polluters identified, accounting for 82 percent of the plastic pollution found. And finally, in Africa, ASAS Group, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble brands were the top brands collected, accounting for 74 percent of the plastic pollution there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese brand audits are putting responsibility back where it belongs, with the corporations producing endless amounts of plastics that end up in the Indian Ocean,\u201d said Griffins Ochieng, Programmes Coordinator for the Centre for Environment Justice and Development in Kenya. \u201cWe held cleanups and brand audits in two locations in Kenya to identify the worst corporate polluters in the region and hold them accountable. It is more urgent than ever, for the sake of communities that rely on the ocean for their livelihoods, health and well-being, to break free from plastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Break Free From Plastic<\/a> is calling on corporations to reduce their use of single-use plastic, redesign delivery systems to minimize or eliminate packaging, and take responsibility for the plastic pollution they are pumping into already strained waste management systems and the environment. While the brand audits do not provide a complete picture of companies\u2019 plastic pollution footprints, they are the best indication to date of the worst plastic polluters globally.<\/p>\n

ENDS<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For the entire set of results, please find Break Free From Plastic\u2019s brand audit report here: https:\/\/www.breakfreefromplastic.org\/globalbrandauditreport2018\/<\/a><\/p>\n

[1] Break Free From Plastic is a global movement envisioning a future free from plastic pollution. Since its launch in September 2016, nearly 1,300 groups from across the world have joined the movement to demand massive reductions in single-use plastics and to push for lasting solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. These organizations share the common values of environmental protection and social justice, which guide their work at the community level and represent a global, unified vision. www.breakfreefromplastic.org<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo and video:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For photo and video from brand audits around the world, click here: https:\/\/media.greenpeace.org\/collection\/27MZIFJWQQ88P<\/a><\/p>\n

Contacts<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Perry Wheeler, Greenpeace USA Senior Communications Specialist, P: +1 301 675 8766, perry.wheeler@greenpeace.org<\/a>