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A study published this week by peer-reviewed journal Science Advances pinpointed some of the major brands responsible for plastic pollution across six continents. The researchers – who used a team of more than 100,000 volunteers – catalogued over 1.8 million pieces of plastic waste. The study identified 28,570 brand names found on plastic in areas including beaches, rivers and parks in 84 countries. They found that the top five companies were responsible for 24% of the branded plastic; with 56 companies responsible for over 50% of the branded plastic. “Thirteen companies have an individual contribution of 1% or more of the total branded plastic observed in the audit events,” the report stated. “All 13 companies produce food, beverage or tobacco products. The top company, The Coca-Cola Company, was responsible for 11%, significantly greater than any other company.” Other F&B giants, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone, Bakhresa Group, Unilever, Wings, Mayora Indah, Mondelēz, Mars and Salim Group followed Coca-Cola in the top ten plastic polluters, with PepsiCo making up 5% of the plastic goods identified, while Nestlé and Danone’s products each made up 3%. “It is important to note that the contributions of the top companies may be an underestimation because there were brands that were not attributed to a company, and there were many unbranded objects,” the report noted, as more than 50% of the plastic waste found was unbranded. The researchers said that “food and beverage products tend to have shorter time periods of use before disposal, including a higher percent of single-use items". “Food and beverage products also have a higher likelihood of being consumed on-the-go,” the report added, compared to household and retail products that are “more likely to be consumed within buildings and therefore less likely to escape materials management infrastructure and leak into the environment”. The researchers said that the findings suggest a “paradigm shift” in how companies should report on plastic production, “whether voluntary or mandated by governments or an international legally binding instrument, can positively address the problem...Producer brand managers and policymakers should prioritise solutions that reduce plastic production.” The study concluded that to effectively address global plastic pollution, corporate producers of plastic waste should phase out nonessential and avoidable single-use products; implement safe and sustainable product designs that cut global demand for new products while increasing reusability, repairability and recyclability; invest in non-plastic alternatives with better safety and environmental profiles; and support alternative distribution models – such as refill-reuse – which lessen pollution. In a statement provided to FoodBev, Nestlé said: "We have reduced in the last five years our new (virgin) plastic usage by 14.9%. Since launching our voluntary commitments to address plastic waste five years ago, we have significantly outperformed the market at large in reducing virgin plastic and increasing recyclability, according to the most recent report from the Ellen Macarthur Foundation." It continued: "We support a global legally binding regulation on plastic pollution and are present in Ottawa this week at the UN Treaty negotiations. At Nestlé, we have more than 220 initiatives to develop well-functioning waste collection, sorting and recycling schemes in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and Latin America. We will continue to pursue this work to keep packaging materials in the circular economy and out of the environment.” A spokesperson for Coca-Cola's UK business told FoodBev: “We care about the impact of every drink we sell and we’re working to reduce the amount of plastic packaging we use. We have an ambitious goal to collect and recycle a bottle or can for each one we sell by 2030. In addition, we support well-designed 'Deposit Return Schemes' across Europe which we know can help us get our packaging back.” Danone also provided a statement, the company said: “Packaging is fundamental to providing people around the world with convenient, high-quality food and drinks, and preserving the quality and food safety af the contents therein. Throughout the global Danone family of companies, we strongly support efforts to reduce plastic waste by accelerating recycling and reuse. We continue to strive to reduce our own plastic footprint – between 2018-2023 we reduced our plastic use by 8%, equivalent to 62,000 tons, and increased the recyclability of our packaging (84% of our packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable)." Danone echoed the sentiments of the researchers and Nestlé, emphasising the importance of a collaborative effort. The dairy giant said: "We continue to support and push for improved collection and recycling infrastructures to help consumers recycle. However, there are systemic barriers to overcome to reduce plastic waste, such as underdeveloped reuse, collection and recycling infrastructures and the scarcity of recycled materials. This is why Danone has been advocating for an ambitious and binding UN Global Plastic Treaty which would represent a major opportunity to unlock and accelerate progress on plastics circularity.” FoodBev has approached PepsiCo and Unilever for comment.