Nestlé shamed as third-largest plastic polluter

Greenpeace activists bring a monster made of plastic found in the water and on beaches to Nestle's headquarters on Lake Geneva in 2019 © Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Greenpeace is once again calling on the big corporations to get rid of plastic. The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo and Nestlé have been the biggest plastic polluters in the world for five years in a row, it said.

As in previous years Swiss food multinational Nestlé occupies third place in the latest global Branded report from the “Break Free From PlasticExternal link” movement, Greenpeace said in a statementExternal link on Tuesday.

The voluntary commitments of the private sector are not enough to tackle the plastic crisis, the environmental organisation said. It is therefore calling for a global plastics agreement.

In response to a request from the Keystone-SDA Swiss News Agency, Nestlé said in a statement that between 2019 and 2021 it reduced plastic packaging by 35% by weight. Another way to reduce plastic is through reusable and refillable systems, it said. To this end, 20 pilot projects have been carried out in 12 countries. However, the company said it knew that more needed to be done.

By the end of 2021, 80% of plastic packaging had been designed for recycling; the ultimate goal is 100%, it said. The lack of recycling infrastructure is currently the main obstacle to a waste-free future, according to Nestlé. The Vevey-based company said it was therefore committed to the creation of the planned UN Global Plastics Treaty.

‘Trashiversary’

In response to what they see as corporate inaction, on Tuesday activists around the world are marking a five-year “Trashiversary” for these companies. They are sending or handing over their own rubbish to them, demanding urgent action.

The Coca-Cola company is at the top of the charts, according to the report. Over the past five years volunteers have collected more rubbish from this brand than from the next two biggest polluters, PepsiCo and Nestlé, combined.

Coca-Cola is the main sponsor of the COP27 climate conference.