Brand names can be used to hold plastic companies accountable for their items found polluting the environment. Using data from a five-year global program (2018–2022) covering 84 countries and 1,576 audit events, Science.org identified brands on plastic items found in the environment. The findings showed that 50% of the items were unbranded, highlighting the need for mandated producer reporting.
The top five brands contributing to global plastic pollution were The Coca-Cola Company (11%), PepsiCo (5%), Nestlé (3%), Danone (3%), and Altria (2%), together accounting for 24% of the total branded items. In total, 56 companies were responsible for over 50% of the branded plastic pollution. There was a strong log-log linear relationship between a company’s annual plastic production percentage and its percentage of branded plastic pollution, with food and beverage companies being disproportionately large polluters.
Phasing out single-use and short-lived plastic products by these major polluters would significantly reduce global plastic pollution.
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