Pepsi's Plastic Problem: An Annual Overview

Pepsi's plastic packaging use has increased by hundreds of millions of pounds, according to a report by Oceana. The company has also failed to make any progress on increasing the amount of plastic in reusable packaging. In 2019, it was estimated that PepsiCo created 137,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste every year across six developing nations.

Pepsi's plastic pollution footprint in Mexico

Pepsi has been criticised for increasing its use of plastic packaging by hundreds of millions of pounds year over year. In 2023, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation reported that Pepsi had made only marginal progress towards meeting pledges to increase recycled content in its plastic packaging and to decrease its use of virgin plastic packaging. Pepsi reported no progress on having more plastic – by weight – in reusable packaging.

In 2022, Coca-Cola disclosed that 1.3% of its products were sold in reusable containers, down from 16% in 2020. This decline could mean Coca-Cola produced the equivalent of an additional 5.8 billion 500ml single-use plastic bottles and cups over the last two years. Pepsi has not released data on the percentage of its products sold in reusable containers.

Oceana has called on Pepsi to increase reusable packaging and reduce single-use plastic. The company has pledged to increase the volume of beverages it sells in reusable packaging by roughly 10-percentage points by 2030.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi's plastic packaging use increases

Coca-Cola and Pepsi's plastic packaging use has increased by hundreds of millions of pounds. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the two companies have made limited progress in meeting their recycling goals. Coca-Cola disclosed that the percentage of its products sold in reusable containers was just 1.3% in 2021 and 2022, and Pepsi did not release any data for this metric. Coca-Cola's plastic packaging usage increased by over 6% or over 454 million pounds (206,000 metric tons) to a reported 3.43 million metric tons in 2022. This is an increase of 8.8% from 2020 to 2021.

PepsiCo is estimated to create 137,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste every year across six developing nations. The company's biggest plastic pollution footprint is in Mexico, where approximately 59,500 metric tons are produced per year.

Both companies have pledged to increase the volume of beverages they sell in reusable packaging by roughly 10-percentage points by 2030. However, Oceana, a non-profit ocean conservation organisation, has called on Coca-Cola and Pepsi to increase their use of refillable and reusable packaging and reduce their use of single-use plastic.

Coca-Cola's progress on recycling goals

PepsiCo is estimated to create 137,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste every year across six developing nations. This is enough to cover more than 22 football pitches a day. Mexico is the company's biggest plastic polluter, producing approximately 59,500 metric tons of plastic waste per year.

Coca-Cola has made limited progress towards meeting its pledges to increase recycled content in its plastic packaging and decrease its use of virgin plastic packaging. In 2023, the company used 27% recycled materials in primary packaging globally, and of the PET used, 17% was recycled resin. This is an increase of 5 percentage points over 2021 and 2 points over 2022. However, this is still well below the company's 2030 target of 50% recycled materials. Coca-Cola has also decreased its plastic recycling goals, dropping its reuse targets and aiming to use 30-35% recycled plastic to make its bottles by 2035. The company has also pledged to increase the volume of beverages it sells in reusable packaging by roughly 10 percentage points by 2030. In 2023, 14% of total beverage volume was served in reusable packaging, which is a decline of 2% from 2022.

Pepsi's progress on recycling goals

Pepsi has made only marginal progress towards meeting its pledges to increase recycled content in its plastic packaging and to decrease its use of virgin plastic packaging. The company has pledged to increase the volume of beverages it sells in reusable packaging by roughly 10-percentage points by 2030. However, it has not disclosed any data on the percentage of its products sold in reusable containers.

Pepsi's plastic packaging use has increased by hundreds of millions of pounds on a year-over-year basis. This increase coincides with data from the Ellen MacArthur annual report, which shows that the company has made limited progress in meeting its recycling goals.

Pepsi is one of the two top polluting brands, according to the Break Free From Plastic Brand Audit. The company's plastic pollution footprint is particularly significant in Mexico, where approximately 59,500 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste is produced per year. This waste is either burned or dumped, and it is enough to cover more than 22 football pitches a day.

While Pepsi has pledged to increase the use of reusable packaging, it has not yet made significant progress in reducing its plastic packaging use. The company's plastic packaging use has increased by over 6% or over 454 million pounds (206,000 metric tons) to a reported 3.43 million metric tons in 2022. This increase in plastic packaging use is unacceptable, according to Oceana, an organisation that advocates for the reduction of single-use plastic.

Pepsi's plastic waste across developing nations

PepsiCo produces an estimated 137,000 metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste every year across six developing nations. This is enough to cover more than 22 football pitches a day. Mexico is the company's biggest plastic pollution footprint, with approximately 59,500 metric tons produced per year. Mexicans are concerned about the contamination of water supplies.

Pepsi has made little progress towards meeting pledges to increase recycled content in its plastic packaging and to decrease its use of virgin plastic packaging. The company has pledged to increase the volume of beverages it sells in reusable packaging by roughly 10 percentage points by 2030. However, it has not released any data on the percentage of its products sold in reusable containers.

Pepsi's plastic packaging use has increased by hundreds of millions of pounds, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation report. This is in contrast to its rival Coca-Cola, which announced that the share of its products sold in reusable containers was 14% in 2022, although this was a decline of two percentage points from its previous pledge.

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