Big Brands Join Forces to Reduce Plastic Waste

More than 60 organizations and companies throughout Australia and surrounding countries – including Nestle and Coca-Cola – signed a pact to reduce plastic waste by 2025, so those polluting debris don’t end up in landfills and oceans.

By 2040, lest actions are taken, the volume of plastic on the market would double, and the amount of plastic entering the ocean would almost triple. “So we really need a radical intervention,” says Brooke Donnelly from the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation. “For example, we will manage the collection of materials and bring them back and manage the end of life, so they’re being recycled or reused or composted.”

The ANZPAC plastic pact – which stands for Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific – was signed by big brands such as Nestle and Coca-Cola, but also by the Australian Beverages Council, the Australian Food and Grocery Council, and Planet Ark. They all pledge to eliminate unnecessary packaging, make all plastic packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable, increase the amount of plastic packaging collected to 25%, as well as the amount of recycled content used to make packaging. Such pacts already exist and are in force in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada, and a regional pact in place in Europe.