Written by Matthew Swijonski | Published
For decades, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been engaged in a bitter and heated rivalry, competing to see which of the two beverage companies will be able to come out on top and claim the soft drink throne as their own. But finally, after all these sugar-filled years, the two companies have something in common that forces them to put aside their differences and work together to defeat the enemy. In a lawsuit filed October 30 in Los Angeles Superior Court, Los Angeles County alleged that Pepsi and Coca-Cola intentionally misled the public regarding the recyclability of their plastic bottles, resulting in a negative environmental impact.
Soft drinks and the war on pollution
According to the lawsuit filed against Coca-Cola and Pepsi, Los Angeles County says the two companies have not only downplayed their role in growing pollution around the world, but have affected the health of millions of people due to the spread of microplastics.
In a statement about the lawsuit, Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath accused each company of not acting in good faith. “Coca-Cola and Pepsi need to stop cheating and take responsibility for the plastic pollution problems caused by your products,” Horvath said. “Los Angeles County will continue to address the serious environmental impacts caused by companies engaging in deceptive and unfair business practices.”
The lawsuit filed by Los Angeles County claims that Coca-Cola and Pepsi should be held liable because the two companies dominate the bottled beverage market, as they account for an overwhelming percentage of the plastic pollution currently affecting many areas of the world, specifically in Los Angeles. As of 2024, Coca-Cola owns beverage brands such as Dasani, Fanta, Sprite, Vitaminwater, and SmartWater. Meanwhile, Pepsi currently owns brands such as Gatorade, Aquafina, Mountain Dew, and Lipton.
Together they make up a large amount of plastic pollution
According to a recent study by a research team led by data scientist Wayne Cowger, Coca-Cola and its brands are responsible for 11 percent of the total plastic pollution in our environment, and Pepsi accounts for an additional 5 percent of the pollution.
Over the past five years, the two beverage companies have been ranked as two of the world’s biggest plastic polluters, with Coca-Cola continuing to hold the top spot. In the research team’s analysis, they concluded that Coca-Cola produces about 3.224 million metric tons of plastic annually, while Pepsi produces about 2.5 million metric tons each year.
As of November 2, neither Coca-Cola nor PepsiCo had commented on the allegations within the lawsuit, though they have rejected previous claims that their plastic products are not recyclable. William Dermody, vice president of media and public affairs for the American Beverage Association, whose members include Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, denied that the beverage companies were intentionally misleading the public. “The claim that our packaging does not and will not be recycled is simply not true,” Dermody said.
He won a similar lawsuit in New York
This is not the first time that Pepsi and Coke have faced a lawsuit over the spread of their environmentally polluting plastic waste. On October 31, Pepsi won the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by New York that accuses the beverage company of polluting the environment with its single-use plastic bottles. New York Attorney General Letitia James had been seeking to hold PepsiCo liable for endangering Buffalo’s water supply by generating 17 percent of the plastic waste found in and near the Buffalo River, but the judge presiding over the case dismissed the case, claiming pollution was a cause. If this happens. It is the responsibility of consumers, not the company, to adhere to recycling guidelines.
source: AP News