Coca-Cola UK recently launched #CokeDunks, a sustainability campaign targeting youth. The campaign uses gamification to emphasize the importance of recycling. #CokeDunks challenges teens to film themselves creatively dunking empty plastic bottles into a recycling bin before posting the content on social media with the hashtag #CokeDunks. This campaign aims to show that recycling doesn’t have to be boring.

We have expanded our package-less delivery model for beverages through our innovative Coca-Cola Freestyle technology to more than 50,000 machines serving 14 million drinks daily. We continue to introduce the technology in Europe and Latin America. Coca-Cola Freestyle is a touchscreen-operated dispenser that uses micro-dosing technology to deliver nearly 200 beverage options – including 117 low/no-calorie beverages and more than 100 varieties, with only a cup.

Coca-Cola and five other companies are implementing a Drop Box program in Jakarta, Indonesia with 100 drop boxes placed in public and retail spaces. We have also joined other companies, PepsiCo, Dow and the UK and Canadian governments, in launching the Global Plastic Action Partnership at the World Economic Forum, which will also implement recycling programs in Indonesia.

Whilst it’s important, it’s not enough that individuals simply recycle more, as the big drinks companies claim. Without drastic action from the industry itself as well, we won’t succeed halting the flow of plastic into the oceans. These companies spend millions promoting themselves as eco-conscious, but we’ve revealed that Coca-Cola sells over 100 billion single-use plastic bottles every year. That means if Coke do take credible action to reduce their plastic footprint and embrace refillable packaging, that can make a massive difference to our oceans. They’ve done it before to tackle climate change, through reducing their carbon footprint. Coca-Cola used its influence across the soft drinks sector and its global supply chain to boost momentum for phasing out highly polluting greenhouse gases from its cooling units. Now it needs to do the same for its plastic footprint.

As a global company regularly caught in the spotlight due to its questionable sustainability efforts, Coca-Cola faced increasing pressure from green campaigners last year when news spread that they were guilty of producing 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles every year. Coca-Cola’s pledge to recycle every bottle by 2030 has failed to counter the prevailing negative sentiment around the brand. By tweeting that Coca-Cola’s trade association “does nothing on climate and supports the US chamber, a huge enemy of climate action”, US senator for Rhode-Island, Sheldon Whitehouse, made the situation go from bad to worse. The remark highlighted the discrepancy between Coca Cola’s public climate program and the brand’s activities in the political realm. With this perfect example of how social media can expose double standards without any filters, it’s clearly more important than ever to answer public concerns and follow through with a long-term sustainable strategy.

Coca-Cola claims that for every drop the company uses, it gives one back. But “every drop” includes only what goes into the bottle. The company does not count water in its supply chain — including the water-guzzling sugar crop — in its “every drop” math. In a report, Coca-Cola acknowledged that the water used in production was “a very small percentage of the total water footprint.” In 2008, Coca-Cola conducted an assessment of a factory and found it took 35 liters of water to make every half-liter of Coke. The researcher who worked on that assessment says the company pressured him to adopt a “net green” accounting method that would have lowered the water footprint of its agricultural supply chain. The company has been criticized for the science behind elements of its replenishment program that “offset” its water use. Coca-Cola gives millions of dollars to environmental groups that assess the efficacy of its water replenishment plans. Coca-Cola pledged to become “a truly water-sustainable business on a global scale” in 2007. Eleven years later, by the standards of the 2008 assessment, the company still has nearly 99 percent of its water footprint to go.

“Our investment in new and pioneering recycling technologies is an opportunity for significant movement toward closing the loop and creating a circular economy for PET,” said Robert Long, Coca-Cola’s Chief Innovation Officer. “We plan to continue investment in developing the right partnerships and initiatives to support our vision of a World Without Waste.”

"European industry has already clearly committed to more sustainable plastics with the pledges that they have submitted to the Commission. Business understands this is an opportunity to innovate and to become global frontrunners in new technology and materials, in line with circular economy logic,” said Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness. “The platform will encourage cooperation and dialogue between market operators, both on the supply and the demand side, so that we can together build a well-functioning market for recycled plastics." The Circular Plastics Alliance will be a high-level, multi-stakeholder platform gathering key industry stakeholders covering the full plastics value chain — from waste collectors to recyclers and primary producers to converters, brand owners and retailers — with particular emphasis on the packaging, construction and automotive sectors.

Corporate action to tackle the mounting problem of ocean plastics is on the rise with new commitments and cross-industry initiatives cropping up regularly. Kimberly-Clark, The Coca-Cola Company and The Dow Chemical Company are the latest to double down on their efforts to drive impact, joining Closed Loop Partners’ Closed Loop Ocean initiative, which seeks to develop a new funding mechanism to prevent plastic from leaking into the world’s oceans. Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) has also signed onto the initiative, becoming the first intergovernmental organization to participate in Closed Loop Ocean’s efforts.

Research indicates that nearly half of the plastic that flows into the world’s oceans each year — an estimated 8 million metric tons — escapes from waste streams in just five fast-growing economies in Asia. The extent of plastic pollution in Indonesia, one of the five targeted countries where around 130,000 tons of plastic and solid waste are produced every day, was recently highlighted in a short video posted on YouTube by British diver Rich Horner. The video, which was filmed at Manta Point, a mere 20 km away from Bali, shows a submerged Horner surrounded by innumerable plastic bags, bottles, cups, sachets, straws and other items, which appear to drastically outnumber the fish and other marine life in the area. “Solving the problem of ocean-bound plastics will require significant investment and partnership from brands and supply chain leaders. Partnership with our coalition of companies who have operations in these markets and with PEMSEA, a regional intergovernmental body with local knowledge and experience in SE Asia will help us bring in additional investors, understand the local market and supply chain dynamics and develop an investment strategy that unlocks the key bottlenecks holding back the recycling system in SE Asia and India,” said Rob Kaplan, Managing Director of Closed Loop Partners.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is the clear plastic resin commonly used to make beverage bottles and food containers. Though made from hydrocarbons — naturally occurring compounds sourced from non-renewable resources, primarily oil — if left to break down outside, PET can take hundreds of years to degrade. But because PET is of the polyester family it can be easily recycled into new bottles or other consumer products such as clothing and carpeting. As the world’s second largest consumer of PET bottles and the biggest consumer of Coca Cola products, (which increasingly includes bottled water), the average Mexican citizen drinks and discards two bottles per day. That equals nearly six kilograms of PET bottles per capita annually, contributing to a yearly national total of about 750,000 tons of PET. A recent survey found that, for the typical Mexican household, sodas constitute the third largest expense, after tortillas and milk.

Miguel Angel Rabago Vite, chairman of Petstar, said, "In order to fulfill our goal to incorporate as much recycled material in packaging our drinks, we now take this step that Petstar double its recycling capacity to process an additional 60,000 tons of PET per year, equivalent to 200 million bottles, and turn them to cleanly and efficiently recycled PET resin food grade to make new bottles. This expansion project represents an investment of $ 34 million and will create 500 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs.”

Closed Loop Fund is a $100 million social impact fund that is working to increase the recycling of products and packaging. Its investors are some of the world's leading retail and consumer goods companies including 3M, Coca Cola, Colgate Palmolive, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Keurig Green Mountain, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle Waters North America, Pepsico, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Walmart Foundation

The company, which produces more than a billion rPET bottles of carbonated soft drinks a year, currently uses 10% rPET in its bottles and is able to go up to 25%. Despite this, the company is aiming for only 13% rPET content in its bottles because it does not have enough recycled plastic to feed production higher than this level, according to John-Paul Blumenthal, Coca-Cola’s South Africa’s energy and sustainability manager.

Tebogo Tshwane Tebogo Tshwane is an Adamela Trust financial journalism trainee at the Mail & Guardian. She was previously a general news intern at Eyewitness News and a current affairs show presenter at the Voice of Wits FM. Tshwane is passionate about socioeconomic issues and understanding how macroeconomic activities affect ordinary people. She holds a journalism honours degree from Wits University.  Read more from Tebogo Tshwane

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa is partnering with a number of NGOs, local municipalities, regional government departments, as well as the South African Police Services in areas to mobilise communities to take part in the clean-up. CCBSA also includes schools that are involved in the Schools Recycling Programme to join in the initiative. The International Coastal Cleanup on 15 September was started over 30 years ago by Ocean Conservancy and has since mobilised millions of people to participate in the world's largest volunteer effort to help clean our oceans and waterways. Since 1995, The Coca-Cola Company has sponsored the International Coastal Cleanup and Ocean Conservancy through educational outreach, community engagement, research, industry collaborations, marketing and more. Last year, Plastics SA co-ordinated over 400 cleanups nationwide during Clean-up and Recycle Week with over 16000 volunteers. Last year, the South African plastic industry recycled a record 2.15 billion PET plastic bottles. The country has seen an increase in PET recycling from single digits in 2000 to 65% in 2017, close to European rates and rates that exceed United States recycling by more than 20%. This has created 64 000 income-generating opportunities for waste pickers, collectors and recyclers. The 93 235 tonnes of collected PET also saved 578 000m3 of landfill space and 139 000 tonnes of carbon. More than 10 years ago, Coca-Cola South Africa funded and co-created the PET Recycling Company (PETCO). PETCO is an industry body that promotes and regulates the recycling of PET material after initial use and has partnered with recyclers to create new products made from disposed PET material. As part of PETCO’s efforts to support Clean-Up and Recycle Week SA 2018 in partnership with Plastics SA, the organisation will be cleaning up Robben Island on Friday 14 September 2018.

Despite tough trading conditions and a 13% fall in the total PET market, the South African plastic industry recycled a record 2.15 billion PET plastic bottles in 2017, setting a post-consumer recycling rate of 65% of PET bottles to put the country on par with international standards. The 93 235 tonnes of collected PET bottles exceeded the industry target of 58% for the year 2017 and created 64 000 income-generating opportunities for waste pickers, collectors and recyclers, saving 578 000m3 of landfill space and 139 000 tonnes of carbon in the process. This was announced this week by national industry body PETCO, which is responsible for fulfilling the sector’s mandate of extended producer responsibility (EPR).

Just 34% of waste in the US is recycled, placing it well behind other developed countries such as Switzerland, which recycles more than 50% of its waste. Outdated facilities and technologies are partly to blame, as is a lack of access to something as simple as a recycling bin in many parts of the country. The Closed Loop Fund (CLF), created last year by some of America’s most well-known consumer brands, is providing zero and low-interest loans to US cities and recycling companies to improve recycling infrastructure. The fund plans to put $100m (£66m) towards recycling initiatives by 2020 and this week announced the first three projects to receive funding.

There’s a financial incentive for companies to boost recycling. Major brands are losing out on $11.4bn in recycling revenue each year, according to a recent study by advocacy groups the Natural Resources Defense Council and As You Sow. Corporations such as Walmart have also set ambitious goals to use more recycled materials in their packaging, which they won’t be able to achieve if the supply of recycled content lags. “Significantly increasing recycling of products and packaging is a global challenge requiring large-scale investment in infrastructure, public-private collaboration, and a fundamental shift in public behavior,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, senior vice president of sustainability at Walmart.

When we all come together through concerted, collective action, we can make a meaningful, lasting difference. That must be the mindset we all take. The guiding principle by which we all operate.Because by the time you’ve read this far, an estimated 40,000 plastic bottles have already made their way into our oceans.Together, we can reduce that number. Together, we might be able to make it zero. It will require hard work, dedication, and investment from many players, but I’m certain that the payoff for our planet, our communities, and our business will be well worth the price.

“One of the things that’s really exciting about World Without Waste is that it is led from the top down,” says Sarah Dearman, Sustainable Packaging Program Director for The Coca‑Cola Company in North America. “As a company, we recognize that our packaging, just like with any other consumer product, is part of the problem, and we want to be part of the solution. We believe our packaging is valuable and has a life beyond its first use. We want to make sure everything we put in the marketplace is recovered so it can be reused again and again. We believe it’s the right thing to do for our planet and our communities.”

For starters, Coca-Cola plans to make all its packaging recyclable by 2025. In most places around the world, including Canada, about 99 per cent of Coca-Cola’s packaging is already recyclable, and Coca-Cola is working with its partners and suppliers to find solutions for the remaining 1 per cent. But for the plan to work, Coca-Cola must help communities get the packaging back into the system and ensure the materials are reused to make new bottles or other products. Coca-Cola itself aims to make 50 per cent of its packaging from recycled content by 2030.

Greenpeace said Coca-Cola should focus on reducing, not recycling, waste.Coca Cola announced its "World Without Waste" campaign by acknowledging that food and drink companies were responsible for much of the rise in litter on streets, beaches and in the oceans worldwide. /**/ (function() { if (window.bbcdotcom && bbcdotcom.adverts && bbcdotcom.adverts.slotAsync) { bbcdotcom.adverts.slotAsync('mpu', [1,2,3]); } })(); /**/ "The world has a packaging problem - and, like all companies, we have a responsibility to help solve it," Coca-Cola chief executive James Quincey said in a statement.

The fragmented approach — doling out funds to different groups supporting individual cities — is the most effective way for Coca-Cola to help improve recycling, said Bruce Karas, vice president of environment and sustainability for Coca-Cola North America. “If you take recycling and waste and say, well it’s a national issue, you’re never going to solve it,” he said. “It’s a local issue.” The company will be able to learn from the Atlanta program and figure out how to apply what works to other locations. For Coca-Cola, a shift away from China could be a good thing. “We need to develop the end markets here,” Karas said. “It doesn’t help us if it’s on the other side of the world.” Coca-Cola plans to refine its goals based on what it learns from programs like the one being deployed in Atlanta. “Right now, we’re building out our pilots,” Karas said. “With each year, we’ll be able to refine what would be our target,” he said. Karas is confident that the company will be able to hit its targets by 2030. Coca-Cola has also been working with The Recycling Partnership and other groups to help boost infrastructure throughout the world. Later this year, Coca-Cola will launch a marketing campaign and local events designed to show people what recycled materials can be turned into.

Coca-Cola is one of many major companies that has made sweeping sustainability promises. Waste-reduction commitments are a way for brands to show customers, who are increasingly concerned about the environment, that they care, and to share that message with employees. Plus, recycling offers companies a way to take more control of their supply chains and avoid potentially volatile raw materials markets. But recycling commitments are difficult to pull off. For Coca-Cola to fulfill its promises, the beverage company needs to make its packages fully recyclable, which it aims to do by 2025. It also has to persuade people to recycle correctly, and it would help if Coke customers live in places with sufficient recycling infrastructure. If Coca-Cola wants to keep its promise, it needs to help fix recycling systems in the communities it serves.

The Petstar plant is owned by Coca-Cola of Mexico and the Mexican bottlers Arca Continental, Bepensa, Corporación del Fuerte, Corporación Rica, Embotelladora del Nayar and Embotelladora de Colima.Testimonies obtained by Univision indicate that PetStar pays the collectors $0.05 per pound of plastic, the lowest price paid within its recyling network in the Mexico City metropolitan area, and far below what it pays to garbage truck workers or at sorting plants in other areas of the city.Camara told Univision that this is because the material they collect in the Bordo of Xochiaca is dirty, devaluing its worth. "That dirt has a cost," he said.

Jaime Camara, the president of PetStar, Coca-Cola of Mexico's largest recycling plant in the State of Mexico, did not deny the use of children to Univision during an interview at which a Coca Cola company media representative was also present.Asked what he thought about the children and teenagers’ work in the garbage collection chain, Camara hesitated, lowered his voice, and admitted "some" kids might be caught up in the process. But he added that the company seeks "not to be involved when they are identified."The company does not have a legal responsibility for the worker conditions because there is no direct contract with them, he pointed out. The paycheck is issued only in the name of a union leader, who is responsible for buying the waste from families like the Herreras, sources told Univision Investiga. "I have to get up early and bring them because they are kids and they might pick up a lighter or something. It is dangerous, so that is why I am bringing them early, so they stay with me," Erica Herrera told Univision at her home next to the garbage dump.

Robert Long, Chief Innovation Officer for The Coca-Cola Company, said: “Our investment in new and pioneering recycling technologies is an opportunity for significant movement toward closing the loop and creating a circular economy for PET. We plan to continue investment in developing the right partnerships and initiatives – like with Ioniqa – to support our vision of a World without Waste.” Ben R. Jordan, Senior Director of Environmental Policy at the Coca-Cola Company, spoke of the importance of recycling at the Sustainable Innovation Forum. He said: "We have teams mapping out where we need to see more bottle to bottle recycling plants...ideally you want to go circular at a local a level as possible!” This news follows the UK Government announcing their new waste strategy to combat the growing plastic pollution.

For more than 4 decades, the Coca-Cola System has been supporting the recycling industry and that is why today, millions of its PET bottles are made with up to 100% of recycled material. For its aluminum and glass packages, the Coca-Cola System has managed to have up to 60% and 40% respectively of recycled material. The PetStar plant is a clear demonstration of the Coca-Cola System’s commitment to the environment in Mexico and in the world, an important contributor to the economic and technological development of the country and an excellent effort of shared responsibility with the authorities and the society in search of a better environment for future generations.

Thanks to the use of top of the line technology, PetStar operations allows its bottling partners–Arca Continental, Bepensa, Grupo RICA, Corporación del Fuerte, Embotelladora de Colima and Embotelladora del Nayar-to advance in the achievement of global sustainability goals set by The Coca-Cola Company, and incorporate up to 100% of recycled material in millions of their PET packages, as well as being able to recycle up to 70% of PET bottles used in their markets. “This important project is part of Coca-Cola’s commitment to the integral wellbeing of communities through the elaboration ofenvironmentally friendly packages,” said Francisco Crespo, President of Coca-Cola Mexico. “Thanks to PetStar, we are contributing to our global goal to incorporaterecycled material in all our packages, and today, millions of them have up to 100%,”, he stated.Francisco Garza Egloff, General Director Arca Continental, affirmed that these type of efforts confirm the Mexican Industry of Coca-Cola’s commitment with the integral development of the country and the preservation of its environment.“Sustainability is part of our long term business strategy because we want to leave a positive mark incommunities, as well as participate actively in the integral development of the society. Apart from making an important environment, social and economic impact, PetStar includes a cultural and educational project, since we are trying to become agents of change in todaysand future generations,”said Garza Egloff.

If Coca-Cola wants to keep its promise, it needs to help fix recycling systems in the communities it serves.

The company has committed to making its bottles and cans out of at least 50% recycled material in the next 11 years. To do that, Coca-Cola (KO) needs to be able to capture recycled materials and use them to make new packaging That's a big undertaking, especially considering the company produced over 3 million tons of plastic packaging in 2017, according to a new report compiled by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which works with companies to reduce waste.