‘Top drink brands responsible for a quarter of branded litter’

Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Heineken International are responsible for nearly a quarter (23 percent) of all branded litter, says a new report released on Friday (6), urging the urgent implementation of an all-in Deposit Return Scheme promised in the 2019 manifesto.

According to the third annual Planet Patrol report, over half (51 percent) of branded litter can be traced back to just ten brands.

The report mentions that the drinks industry is the largest polluter for the second year running and responsible for over one third of litter found in 2020 and 2021. For a third consecutive year, Coca-Cola produced the most branded litter, accounting for more than one in 10 pieces logged.

Types of litter that was recorded by Plant Patrol includes plastic fragments, metal drinks cans, plastic packaging and plastic bottles, among others.

The top five “most-polluting brands” that are listed in the report are Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Cadbury, Red Bull and Walkers.

A total of 85,326 pieces of litter were recorded by more than 5,400 Planet Patrol app users last year.

“Just 10 parent companies were responsible for more than 50 percent of branded litter in the UK last year, and we’re seeing the same offenders, like Coca-Cola, repeatedly in our data,” Planet Patrol founder Lizzie Carr said.

“We are part of a fundamentally flawed system that continues to allow brands to pollute without consequence or accountability, whilst our environment pays the price. Litter is the symptom of a deeper-rooted, system problem – not the cause.”

“I believe that the transition to a fully circular future is both essential and possible,” she added.