Friday, March 29, 2024

These 5 companies produce almost half of all plastic pollution in Canada

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A trash audit by Greenpeace Canada has revealed that five companies produce almost 46% of all the plastic pollutants in the country.

According to the organization, auditors sorted trash collected on shorelines by type, brand and then manufacturing corporation to determine the total contribution of a company at a location.

And their findings state that in Canada, the top five polluting corporations are…*cue drumroll*:

  1. Nestlé
  2. Tim Hortons
  3. PepsiCo.
  4. The Coca-Cola Company
  5. McDonald’s

These five companies account for 46% of the 2231 pieces of identifiable branded plastic trash collected during the audits.

“It’s high time we shine a light on the role that throwaway plastic producers are playing in the plastic pollution crisis,” said Sarah King, Greenpeace Canada’s Head of Oceans and Plastics.

“Brand audits create undeniable evidence of how companies like Nestlé, Tim Hortons, PepsiCo., Coca-Cola and McDonald’s are trashing our shorelines and green spaces across Canada.”

Called out

Out of these five corporations, three of them – The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo., and Nestlé – are also among the top plastic pollutants globally.

Moreover, The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, and Nestlé (in that order) made up 64% of the branded plastic trash that was identified across North America.

Among the most common items found were the ever popular plastic-lined coffee and beverage cups produced by Tim Hortons, McDonald’s, and Starbucks.

And in addition to the top 5 leaders of the pack, a number of other well-known companies also contribute significant amounts of plastic waste to the environment in Canada, namely The Hershey Company (eg. Jolly Ranchers, Reese brands), Loblaw Companies Ltd. (PC, no name brands), Danone (eg. Danone, Evian, Naya Water brands), Costco Wholesale Corporation (Kirkland), Metro Inc. (Selection), and various others.

According to Greenpeace Canada, only 10-12% of all plastic is recycled in the country. In a bid to prevent companies from making single-use plastic products in the first place, the organization is filing a petition to hold CEO’s accountable for the pollution they’ve created.

Click here to sign it.

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Brishti Basu
Former Senior Staff Writer and Content Manager at Victoria Buzz.

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