OUT OF CONTROL

Coca-Cola Admits It Produces 3 Million Tons of Plastic Packaging Every Year

That’s the equivalent of 200,000 bottles a minute.

Coca-Cola has admitted that it produces a mind-boggling 3 million metric tons (3.3 million tons) of plastic packaging a year—the equivalent to 200,000 bottles every minute. The beverage company has previously refused to disclose the information, but has now provided the data to activist Ellen MacArthur, who is urging companies and governments to do more to prevent plastic pollution. The figures didn’t break down exactly how the plastic was used, but The Guardian reports the volume translates to 108 billion 500ml PET plastic bottles bottles a year, more than one-fifth of the entire world’s PET bottle output, which is roughly 500 billion a year. In its reports published Thursday, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said: “The decision by more than 30 companies to publicly disclose their annual plastic packaging volumes in the report is an important step toward greater transparency.”

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