Some of the world’s top plastic producers, including PepsiCo and Coca-Cola, are joining a plea for a new international treaty to fight plastic pollution in the oceans. The demand comes after a devastating report highlights how more than 11M tons of discarded plastic, equivalent to the weight of around 60K blue whales, are dumped into the sea each year.
In March 2020, Earth Island Institute filed a lawsuit against the top ten plastic polluters, including Coca-Cola, Nestlé, and PepsiCo, to hold the companies accountable for their plastic pollution share.
The big-named drinks companies have continuously been slated in research on plastic pollution. Thankfully, they’re finally stepping up to the plate. Now, they’ve joined the push by environmental charities for a United Nations (UN) treaty demanding governments to create a global agreement on plastic pollution.
Almost 30 companies, including Mars, Danone, H&M, Nestlé, Unilever, and Tesco, have backed the call, making it the first such collective corporate action ever. The more companies join, the better the results will be. Therefore, organizers advise as many private companies to join.
Negotiations on the new treaty are expected to be held at the UN environmental assembly’s next session in February 2021.
Plastic stays in the ecosystem for decades, harming thousands of sea and land creatures daily. According to the UN’s fact sheet on Marine pollution, plastic waste kills 1M seabirds and 100K sea mammals, marine turtles, and uncountable fish every year. One study discovered plastic in every examined marine turtle, 59% of whales, 40% of seabird species, and 36% of seals.
Meanwhile, lost and discarded fishing gear, known as “ghost gear,” accounts for 10% of all marine litter and kills turtles, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals.
The organizations and charities who orchestrated the plea to the UN include:
- The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)
- The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
- Boston Consulting Group
A report issued by these organizations urged that a global agreement setting out primary goals, action plans, and binding targets is crucial to tackling the issue worldwide. It forecasted that the worldwide volume of plastic waste entering the oceans would triple over the next two decades.
Paula Chin, WWF’s sustainable materials specialist, said:
Nature is in freefall, and plastic pollution continues to be one of the most visible signs of the environmental crisis. This is a global problem that demands a global solution.
Last month, WWF’s Living Planet Report found that devastation of nature has caused global wildlife populations to drop an average of 68% since 1970 and that the entire ocean is affected by humans.
