Newsroom
Coca-Cola is facing mounting pressure around the world as consumers call for a boycott over the company’s continued use of single-use plastics.
Environmental groups have named it the worst plastic polluter globally for six years in a row, and now many are refusing to buy its products.
But here in Cyprus, the controversy has sparked a more practical concern: Where exactly do all those plastic bottles end up, even when we put them in the recycling bin?
According to a report from conservation group Oceana, Coca-Cola is on track to contribute over 600 million kilos of plastic waste to the world’s waterways each year by 2030. The company sells more than 100 billion single-use bottles annually, many of which are not recycled, despite consumer efforts.
Cypriots have access to recycling bins and public awareness campaigns, but the island still struggles with effectively managing plastic waste. Much of the plastic collected isn’t recycled at all, due to poor sorting, contamination, or lack of capacity.
The system’s limitations are especially troubling when it comes to single-use bottles like those from Coca-Cola, which dominate supermarket shelves and vending machines across the island.
Coca-Cola has promised to collect and recycle the equivalent of every bottle it sells by 2030 and has made investments in recycling programs in some countries. It has also started attaching caps to bottles to reduce cap litter.
But critics say that’s not nearly enough.
Environmental groups like Greenpeace argue that true sustainability means reducing plastic production, not just managing the waste after the fact.
*With information from TCD - TheCoolDown.com
