Leading Food Companies Unite to Tackle Plastic Waste
The plastics industry, however, argues that alternatives are worse for the environment.
May 21, 2019
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Major food and beverage companies have joined efforts to create a “World Without Waste” in hopes of reducing the amount of unwanted plastics throughout the world, according to Foodbev.com.
Working in cooperation with WWF (formerly the World Wildlife Fund), World Without Waste is a program aimed at creating more recyclable packaging, increasing collection and partnering with communities and competitors to reduce plastic packaging waste.
Members include Coca-Cola, Keurig Dr Pepper, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Tetra Pak, all of whom will share knowledge, measurement goals and collaborative frameworks to advance a circular economy.
According to WWF, as few as 100 companies have the potential to help prevent the world’s plastic waste pollution problem by addressing plastic production, consumption, waste management and recycling as a single system.
“To get closer to our goal of no plastic in nature will take nothing short of transforming the entire value chain,” said Nik Sekhran, chief conservation officer, World Wildlife Fund. WWF’s worldwide No Plastic in Nature campaign is designed to protect the world’s oceans and biodiversity by tackling marine litter and unnecessary plastic consumption.
At the same time, the plastics industry is fighting back, arguing that alternatives to plastic containers can be worse for the environment and disruptive for businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Trade groups have increased spending on lobbying and are reaching out to consumers and promoting recycling amid mounting regulation. Their message: Plastic bans target only waste and don’t consider the environmental negatives associated with raw materials and the production of alternatives.
The focus of the controversy is plastic bags. According to a United Nations report, 127 countries out of 192 reviewed had banned plastic bags or established other laws to manage plastic bags as of July.
Supporters of the bans say they cut plastic consumption and litter with no big burden on consumers and businesses. But critics say single-use plastic bags are often used several times, and that they can be recycled at many supermarkets.
The American Progressive Bag Alliance, a trade association for bag manufacturers, is battling proposed bag bans in Maine and New Jersey. “Many ordinances are driven by emotion and aren’t really fact-based in terms of good public policy,” said Matt Seaholm, head of the alliance.
The trade group claims bans aren’t successful at reducing overall waste, adding that a study found that thicker, reusable plastic bags wound up in Austin’s waste stream after the Texas city banned single-use plastic bags in 2013.
Sustainability
