Earth Day 2018 is dedicated to mobilising the world to end plastic pollution, by launching a multi-year campaign to curb consumption of single-use plastics.
Celebrated annually on 22 April, Earth Day is a global annual event with more than 1 billion people in 192 countries taking part in the world’s largest civic-focused day of action.
Part of the campaign is a petition for world leaders to ban single-use plastics and support a move to sustainable non-polluting, non-fossil fuel based alternatives. It also calls for corporations to take responsibility for the production of throwaway plastic packaging.
Ahead of Earth Day, environmental group Greenpeace has launched a campaign to pressure corporations to reduce their massive single-use plastic footprints.
In a plastic waste study led by Greenpeace in September last year, global brands Nestle, Unilever, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, and Procter & Gamble were revealed to be among the biggest plastic polluters. Since then, these companies have pledged to step up their efforts to cut down on plastics.
Nestlé
The Swiss food and beverage company joined 11 other leading brands that had previously committed to make all of their packaging recyclable or re-usable by 2025. On its website, it said it will do this by eliminating non-recyclable plastics, encouraging the use of plastics that allow for better recycling rates, and eliminate or change complex combinations of packaging materials.
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Unilever
The consumer goods giant has long been pushing for more circular production processes, including how it manages plastic packaging. Last year, it developed new technology called CreaSolve which can recycle used sachets and channel them back into the supply chain.
The company is also looking at new ways to recycle PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), a plastic that is widely used in packaging. The technology is expected to be ready by late 2019.
A year before Nestlé, Unilever pledged to use 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable plastic packaging by 2025.
Coca-Cola
The beverage company announced in January this year that it would collect and recycle the equivalent of every can or bottle it sells by 2030. The company plans to do this by making consumer packaging 100% recyclable by 2025 and to have 50% recycled content in its packaging by 2030.
Dubbed the “World Without Waste” initiative, it aims to examine the entire packaging lifecycle, from how bottles and cans are designed and made, to how they’re recycled and repurposed.
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PepsiCo
PepsiCo has made the same commitment that 11 leading brands have made to fight plastic pollution.
The company is also involved in the New Plastics Economy initiative, led by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, which challenges stakeholders to rethink and redesign packaging.
Its sustainability report states that it is working with biotechnology leader Danimer Scientific on developing bio-based compostable packaging for its snack brands and converting its labels to recyclable material on Gatorade and Lipton Pure Leaf products.
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble announced in January last year its commitment to achieve zero manufacturing waste to landfill by 2020. The firm also intends to achieve zero consumer and manufacturing waste to landfills as well as use 100% renewable or recycled materials for all products and packaging.
The company aims to ensure all incoming production materials are either converted into finished products, recycled or re-used in other ways through partnerships similar to the one in place with US-based recycling specialist TerraCycle, which helped create the Fairy Ocean Plastic bottle.
Procter & Gamble says it has already met its zero waste goals in 19 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Indonesia, and claims to be approaching the 100% target in two of its largest manufacturing hubs, China and India.
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Source: Eco-Business, 20 April 2018