Coca-Cola, PepsiCo Sued over Plastic Pollution

According to the suit, 9.5% of plastic was recycled in 1996. However, that number fell to 9.7% by 2018.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The Virgin Islands government filed a lawsuit alleging that Pepsi and Coke bottles are damaging the islands' natural beauty. Additionally, it claimed that these businesses were lying about the negative environmental effects of these bottles.

PepsiCo, PepsiCo Caribbean, The Coca-Cola Company, and CC1 Virgin Islands, LLC were accused in the lawsuit, which was filed in the Superior Court of the Virgin Islands, of fabricating stories about recyclability, making false promises and commitments to reduce the use of single-use plastics, and launching massive campaigns to mislead consumers about the harmful effects of plastics.

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The lawsuit noted that plastic bottles could only be recycled once, if at all, in contrast to what these corporations claimed. They have only contributed far smaller sums to help various cleanup projects in comparison to the billions of dollars these firms have spent on marketing and advertising.

The lawsuit claims that in 1996, 9.5% of plastic was recycled. By 2018, though, the percentage had dropped to 9.7%.

Additionally, it claimed that the businesses had not disclosed the amount of microplastics in their bottles. 10% of the plastic particles in water bottles are microplastics, while 90% are even smaller nanoplastics, according to a study done last year.

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