PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), and Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) Sued Over Plastic Waste

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An environmental Group known as Earth Island Institute has sued various food and beverage companies regarding plastic waste. The suit filed seeks to hold into account ten companies regarding plastic waste that blocks waterways in California.

Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and Nestle among others sued for plastic waste

The defendants mentioned in the lawsuit include PepsiCo Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Nestle (OTCMKTS:NSRGY), and Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) as well as six other companies. The group has asked for unspecified damages from the companies and order for cleaning up plastic waste that has resulted in a global pollution crisis. There are initiatives by federal and state lawmakers to compel companies to be responsible for the materials they are using in the packaging of products.

For instance, California legislators want to impose what they call extended producer responsibility that will require food and beverage producers to come up with plans of collecting empty containers.  Senator Tom Udall and Rep Alan Lowenthal have introduced the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which will create a container redemption program and encourage the recycling of plastic containers and bottles.

Environmental groups want companies to be accountable for plastic waste

Earth Island general counsel Sumona Majumdar indicated that the suit seeks to hold the companies accountable for the role they play in plastic pollution. Sumona added that the corporations for far too long the corporations have been pushing the costs to the public, including non-profits such Earth Island that are cleaning after their mess.

Just like the recent Greenpeace report, the suit raises concerns about the viability of recycling plastics. In the past five decades, only 9% of plastics that have been recycled and most of them end up in oceans and rivers.

American Beverage Assn the representative for Pepsi, and Coke indicated that plastic waste is a global problem that requires thoughtful solutions. It added that the US beverage companies have already taken steps to address the problem by minimizing the use of new plastics and investing in the collection of the bottles so they can be recycled.