GrassRoots Recycling Network: Coke Broke Promise to Use Recycled Plastic
Coca-Cola's growing reliance on plastic soda bottles, without using any recycled plastic, wastes resources and pollutes the environment, say leaders of a national consumer campaign targeting the giant soft drink manufacturer. Protests against Coke are planned for six cities on November 10.
Coke is leading the soft drink industry switch to single-use plastic soda bottles, and the results for recycling beverage containers are disastrous," says GrassRoots Recycling Network spokesman Bill Sheehan. Sheehan is the national network coordinator of the Athens, GA-based organization. "Our campaign is about manufacturer responsibility. Recycling works only if manufacturers like Coke use the materials consumers recycle."
Sheehan insists that Coke broke its promise to use recycled plastic in soda bottles sold in the United States, while increasing the use of plastics for packaging soft drinks. This, he says, is a major factor in declining plastic soda bottle recycling rates over the past three years. Rates have gone from an industry high of 50% in 1994 to just 36% in 1997, according to Sheehan.
To protest, the GrassRoots Recycling Network launched the "Coke — Take It Back!" campaign last month. The campaign calls on consumers to mail back empty plastic Coke bottles to Coca-Cola Co. Chairman Douglas Ivester with the simple message "take it back and use it again."
"We are finding a broad base of support for our campaign. A total of 43 groups support the Coke protest, including national environmental groups like Friends of the Earth, Earth Island Institute, Greenpeace US Toxics Campaign, and the Georgia and Virginia Chapters of Sierra Club," Lance King, campaign consultant to the GrassRoots Recycling Network, said. A complete list of endorsements is available upon request. Cities that will be hosting protests on November 10 include Boulder, CO; Athens, GA; and Atlanta, GA.
For more information: GrassRoots Recycling Network, Bill Sheehan, 706-613-7121, or Lance King, 703-241-0019.